Page 155 of The Dollhouse

My eyebrows came together at the mention of two names I wasn’t familiar with. “Who?”

“Tori is his niece,” Ash said. “She’s Stella’s kid. And Lincoln’s and Ed’s and Killian’s.” She giggled. “Yeah, it’s a complicated situation, kind of like with us.” She glanced at Travis and Sawyer, and both guys stared back at her with love deep in their eyes.

I was not aware they had a kid, but I supposed there was a lot about the Scott family I didn't know. Still, I had to reference Ash’s last comment by saying, “You’d be surprised. I have three boyfriends myself. They’re in the other room.”

Ash inhaled sharply. “Oh, that’s exciting! Can we meet them?” She tossed her blond head toward her guys, adding in a whisper, “I’m so glad we were in town this weekend.” To me, she said, “This is about making a fool of your parents, right? I’m all for that. I was the first girl at HU, so I know all about dealing with people like that.”

“Not to mention my fucking parents,” Sawyer whispered, frowning.

“Yeah.” Ash trailed off for a bit, and I could tell there was more she wasn’t saying, but that was fine. We weren’t besties. She didn’t need to spill her whole life story to me. “But, anyway, bring me to your boys. Let’s meet them.” She wore a short pink dress, not exactly the kind of cocktail gown you’d wear to a party like this; it was one that would stick out, but I assumed she’d chosen it on purpose.

Ash wasn’t from Hillcrest. I knew. If she was the first girl who’d gone to HU… well, I’d heard all about that through the grapevine years ago.

I brought them into the other room, where the stage was hidden behind a thick curtain. We’d had to do some installation of hardware on the ceiling; I wasn’t sure how that would work since we were only renting this house, but Roman would figure it out.

The room was full of people from Hillcrest, along with people I knew. I saw Lake with Carter off to the side, spotting Roman with Maddox and Sylvester. Their girl was still with Stella, chatting away while eyeing up her men—especially that Lincoln one.

If Lola had her way, I knew, there really would be an orgy tonight. But that wasn’t on my list of things to do. I already had a plan for tonight, and while breaking out into a big sex room would horrify my parents and the other Hillcrest people to no end, it wasn’t quite what I had in mind.

I introduced Ash and her guys to mine, but I didn’t get the chance to bring them to Roman, mostly because I saw someone walking into the room who most certainly shouldn’t be here, someone who I wasn’t expecting to see, well, ever.

Wyatt.

“Excuse me,” I said, pushing past all the people and making a beeline to Wyatt, who had refused a mask for obvious reasons and stood in the big room looking completely out of place. He wore a regular t-shirt, much like Lake, with dark jeans, his hands currently stuck in his pockets. Once I reached him, I spoke his name, “Wyatt.” It was all I could say, mostly because I was so caught off-guard.

It was like everything collided in that moment. Wyatt, the life I used to live, the life I currently lived. I didn’t know what to say, and I had no idea why he was here.

Wyatt’s light green eyes were busy surveying the room, but once I walked up, he only had eyes for me. “Hey, Zoey. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were throwing a party tonight.” He frowned somewhat.

“Oh, this is… it’s…” I paused, not sure how to explain it. “Can we talk somewhere else?” When Wyatt gave me a nod, I gestured for him to follow me. We weaved through the people, and I brought him through the house, to the back door which led to the giant patio area—an area of this house we never really used.

Until now.

No one had ventured outside, which gave us some privacy. We sat down at a table, staring at each other for a while, neither of us saying a word. Wyatt looked good; he’d shaved recently, his jaw free of stubble. His reddish hair looked more brown in the twilight air, without the sun hitting it and bouncing off its tresses.

He looked good, and though I wanted to tell him that, I found I could only say, “I thought I wouldn’t see you again. I thought… I thought you wouldn’t want to see me either, after that.” I remembered how upset he’d been when he’d come here before, earlier in the week, and how right he was in being hurt with me. Wyatt had every right to hate me for playing him, for using his emotions to my advantage. I wasn’t proud of what I did to him, all to get back at my sister, but at this point, I wasn’t sure I’d change the past, even if I could.

“Yeah, I… I didn’t really expect this.” Wyatt rubbed his hands on his knees. “I didn’t think I’d want to, either.” He then rubbed his jaw, the back of his neck, the telltale sign he felt awkward and uneasy. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you, even after what you did, especially after Lake came to talk to me.”

That came as news to me, and I blinked. “What?”

Before Wyatt could say anything, Lake himself stepped outside. Ten feet away from where we sat, he gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry. I was going to tell you… maybe. But then I saw Wyatt come in and wanted to give you a heads-up… which I see now is pointless since you two are already talking.”

“Give us a few minutes please, Lake,” I said. I’d ask him what the hell he’d been thinking later. Right now, I wanted to talk to Wyatt. I thanked Lake when he slipped back into the house and gave us the room. Er, space? Whatever.

Once it was just the two of us, I asked Wyatt, “What exactly did Lake say?”

“Does it matter?” Wyatt shook his head, mostly at himself. “Of course it does. He cares about you a lot. He tried to explain why you did what you did, I think since I didn’t really let you say anything after Willow sent me that video. I didn’t like being used, Zoey.” He still sounded hurt, and he had every reason to be. I’d played with his heart.

“I don’t imagine many people do,” I whispered. “I know it’s not worth much to you anymore, but I am sorry. You’re a good guy. If I could’ve chosen who would get hurt in the crossfire, I wouldn’t have picked you. You deserve the world, Wyatt. You deserve a girl who loves you for you and not what you can do for her. You deserve so much better than me.”

And that was the truth. The cold, hard, ugly truth. I was at home with Roman and Carter, while Lake was the angel on my shoulder, the boy next door, my morals. I wasn’t the kind of girl Wyatt deserved. Oh, no. He needed someone who could give their all to him.

Wyatt listened to me, not saying a word for a long while. And then he said, “Don’t downplay yourself. You’re amazing, Zoey, and that’s why I… that’s why I got so upset. Even though things were unusual with you, to say the least, you got me excited. You made me feel things. You made me want…” He looked down. “Well, none of that matters, I guess.”

“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t say that enough, and no matter how many times I said it, I still felt like the word rang hollow. I wasn’t sorry for fucking with Willow, but I was sorry for bringing Wyatt into the mess.

“After Lake came to talk to me, I realized I’m not the kind of person that holds grudges. I just don’t. I don’t see the point.” Wyatt lifted his eyes in my direction once more, and I had no clue where he was going with this. “I… just because I wouldn’t do what you did doesn’t mean I don’t understand it. Your family hurt you, your sister especially, so you wanted to hurt them back. I was the best way for you to do that.”

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