Page 163 of Fake Game

“Then you’regoingto be wandering around like a child because I’m not giving you her address,” he pushes back.

“Parker,” Aleks warns.

“Really?” I get up in Parker’s face. “You really want to try that?”

His eyes burn icy blue as he stares at me quietly.

“What if it were Sydney?”

That burning wavers.

“What if she were hurting and she ran back to Missouri; would you not follow her?”

He looks away, fingers coming up to twist the twin studs in his ear. “I—”

“And you,” I spin on Aleks. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same for Stephanie.” My teeth clench as a I spit out, “Don’t even fuckingtryto tell me you wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth for her if she up and disappeared.”

He opens his mouth but just sighs.

The elevator doors open, and I turn my back on them, leaving them behind as I head for my bedroom—tunnel vision blocking out everything except the fact that I need to throw a few things into a duffle and leave. It doesn’t matter what, I just need to get on the first flight out.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

I spin to find Sydney leaning in my doorframe.

“Yes, I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No disrespect, Sydney, but we pay you. If I say that I’m taking some time off and going to Ireland, I’m doing that.”

“Don’t be an asshole.” Her eyes narrow, and it’s then that I realize they’re rimmed with red and slightly puffy. She sighs, walking in and perching on the edge of my bed. “Sit.” She pats the spot next to her.

I slam the T-shirt I’ve been holding into my duffle with a huff before trudging over. While I might be behaving like an ass, I’m not one—the guys and I have always respected Syd, always trusted her.

“I’m hurt that she left as well, but I get it.”

“Get what?”

“That she needs the space to heal. What she’s going through is traumatizing, and up until now, all she’s done is ignore her trauma and shove it aside, time and time again. At some point, all that pain is going to poison her from the inside out. It’s what happened to me when my brother died.”

“But she doesn’t have to do it alone.”

That’s what hurts the most.

“Actually, she does. Until she decides to heal, it doesn’t matter how much anyone around her says otherwise. She needs to make that mental choice for herself. Once she takes that first step, then, yeah, we can help her. But she has to start the journey on her own two feet first.”

“I can wait. I’ll go to Ireland, and I’ll wait.”

“I know you can, you have the patience of a saint. But you’re not going to Ireland—you won’t if you want to keep her safe. Rick is in the wind, so the rest of us are grounded. Deer’s family is going cold until he’s in custody. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I want to fight her on it, but I can’t when the reasoning is Deer’s safety. That’s all I want, for her to be safe. And if it meansI have to stay here and feel like my heart is being run over by a truck every five minutes, then fine, so be it. I’ll endure that pain so she can heal from hers.

But I won’t give up. I’ll never give up.

Deer is my star, and without her, the night sky is but an empty void. So, I’ll wait until the time comes for her to return and light up my world with her sparkle.

“Fine.”

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