Page 147 of The Dollhouse

Yeah, I think that’s why this whole thing was bothering her so much. If Wyatt had been a douchebag, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but the fact that Wyatt reminded her of me made her feelings on the subject conflicted.

Zoey would never hurt me, but hurting Wyatt had been close to it since he reminded her of me.

The worker in the back had reddish hair, though it kind of depended on how the light from the bulbs above landed on it. I wasn’t close enough to see whether he had green eyes or not, but I’d find out soon.

I went to the back, not even pretending to be looking for a book. I walked straight up to the guy who had a nametag on his chest, and when he saw me approach, he turned to look at me, asking, “Can I help you find anything?” He sounded bored, like he’d rather be anywhere else but here.

Couldn’t blame him. I hated working retail, and I couldn’t wait until I graduated and started applying to jobs I actually wanted.

My eyes dipped low to his nametag, finding that he was the guy I wanted to see. Wyatt. I met his stare once more, taking him in a new light. He was about as tall as me, not muscled, more lean than anything. His jaw held stubble, like he’d forgotten to shave… for four days in a row. And now that I was closer, I was able to see why his hair looked more brown than red: grease.

Dang. He’d kind of let himself go these past few days. He must’ve really liked Zoey and been hurt by what she’d done. I couldn’t blame him for that at all, though, because I was sure I’d do the same if Zoey decided she was done with me and tossed me to the side.

I loved her. I loved her so much I couldn’t see straight sometimes.

“Uh, hello?” Wyatt spoke, eyebrows furrowing as he stared right back at me. “You okay, man?”

Realizing I was staring at him and not saying a single word like a creep, I said, “Sorry. I don’t mean to stare. Didn’t get much sleep last night.” I took a sip of my coffee, mostly because I needed time to try to figure out what the heck I was going to say to him. That’s all I’d done during the drive, but practicing in my head and actually being here were two totally different things. The real thing was much more awkward than I anticipated.

“Too much partying?” Wyatt joked, though his heart wasn’t in it, and right after he said that, he returned his focus back to the stack of textbooks he was rearranging.

“Nah, I don’t party. I had to stay up late to get my homework done for the weekend, since I won’t have any time to get it done.” I glanced over my shoulder, just to make sure we were alone back here, just in case, you know, this ended just as awkwardly as it had begun. “I actually don’t go to Hillcrest.”

Wyatt looked at me again. “You don’t? Then… then why are you here? Thinking of transferring? Look, I might not be the best person to ask, but this place, it’s… it might look great from the outside, but once you’re in, you see the truth. I wouldn’t transfer here if I were you.”

“That’s not why I’m here. I came here to talk to you, actually.” That got Wyatt to stare at me like I’d suddenly grown a third eye, which I was pretty sure I would’ve felt, if it had happened. “Can we… talk somewhere?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “Do we know each other?”

“No. Well, maybe. I mean, I’ve heard of you a whole lot. I don’t know if Zoey talked about me at all—” The mere mention of Zoey’s name got Wyatt to scowl and look away from me, and I could visibly see just how tightly wound he still was when it came to her.

He chuckled, though it was a bitter sound. “This is about Zoey. Of course. I should’ve known.” Wyatt said nothing else, turning and walking away from me, further back into the shop, where even more textbooks sat in piles.

I followed him. He couldn’t get rid of me that easily. “My name is Lake. I’m—” Wyatt abruptly stopped, which caused me to nearly run into his back. It was a good thing my coffee had a lid on it, otherwise it would’ve splashed from the sudden stop.

“I don’t really care who you are,” he told me, slow to face me once more. “I’m done with Zoey. Done. She’s done enough. I don’t… I don’t even want to think about her.” His green eyes shifted to the side, and I could tell he was doing just that: thinking about her.

“Ah, you see, that’s what your problem is. Trying not to think about her is impossible, trust me. I tried the same thing, back after Roman had me kidnapped the first time—” I had no idea if I should be saying any of this, but I had the feeling Wyatt needed to know he wasn’t alone in this big, sometimes ugly world.

“You were kidnapped? By Roman?” At first, he sounded completely shocked, but then the shock died down when Wyatt went on, “You know, I can believe it. That guy doesn’t seem very nice.”

“He’s not. He’s really not, but Zoey loves him, so I put up with him when I have to.” I shrugged. “It’s all water under the bridge, anyway.”

Wyatt scoffed, “Well, I’m glad it’s that way for you, but I’m not at that point yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be. She…” He paused, throwing a quick look around. The shop wasn’t that busy; there was a pair of students up front, talking to the cashier, but that’s it. We were as private as we could be back here. “She lied to me. I don’t know if she put you up to this, but—”

I shook my head. “No, she doesn’t even know I’m here. I wanted to come talk to you without her knowing. She’s been… she feels awful for what she did to you.”

“Then why did she do it?” Wyatt questioned, frowning. His eyes closed, and he ran a hand down his face. “I get that she wanted to get back at her sister, but I don’t appreciate being used and lied to like that.”

“If it means anything to you, which I know it probably doesn’t, because who am I to you, but I told her not to go that far. You sounded like a good guy, and I knew this would happen if she went through with it. But that’s the thing: you don’t get it. I don’t even get it, not really. You can only really get it if you’re Zoey. What her sister did, knowing her family knew the whole time and kept it a secret… how would you feel if the people you trusted above all else, the people who are supposed to love you and support you no matter what, betrayed you like that?”

Wyatt was silent for a while, and he eventually said, “They hurt her, yeah, but that doesn’t give her a right to use other people however she wants. You can try to explain it away all you want, dude, but I don’t care.”

“And I’m not saying you should. I’m not trying to make excuses for Zoey and what she did to you.”

“Then what are you trying to do here, Lake?” Wyatt spoke my name with a bit of malice, and I couldn’t tell if it was rooted in anger or jealousy. Anger over what Zoey did or jealousy of me and the fact that I was with her and he wasn’t.

I heaved a sigh, tapping my fingers on the side of my coffee cup. “I don’t know. I guess, I guess I just wanted to talk to you. I know you’re hurting. You have every right to hate her—and me by association—but I want you to know she didn’t do it because of you. You were just a bystander pulled into this because you got Willow’s attention. She feels awful for what she did.” I saw Wyatt open his mouth, and I quickly added, “As she should, for using you and lying to you.”

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