Page 121 of The Wrong Quarterback

Maybe that had been love, and what Parker and I had was a soul-shaking obsession.

But whatever it had been with Gray…I didn’t feel it anymore. Parker’s light shone too bright. It had burned everything else away.

“Gray,” I whispered, his name catching in my throat, like it hurt to say. Maybe it did. It felt like a goodbye already, a word weighed down by a thousand memories that wrapped aroundmy heart and squeezed tight. I swallowed hard, tasting the salt of unshed tears.

“Don’t say it,” he said stubbornly.

“I’m letting you go,” I whispered.

I stared at him, the boy who’d been my constant, my refuge, my home for so long.

But he’d also deserted me when I’d needed him the most.

And then he’d treated me like I was an afterthought instead of the love of his life.

The streetlight cast a soft glow over us, its flickering creating shadows that danced across his face, catching the deep furrow of his brow, the pain that swam in those familiar eyes.

“We’re not kids anymore,” I said, the words a knife between us. “And whatever we once had—it’s not enough now. I thought it was everything then, but…it turns out I didn’t know whateverythingactually was.” My chest ached, the pain raw, like I was being hollowed out from the inside. The streetlight flickered again, casting us in and out of shadow, like the universe couldn’t decide if we should be seen or forgotten.

He took a step closer, and I held up my hand to stop him.

Gray’s eyes glistened, unshed tears making them shine. “I can be better,” he said, voice cracking, raw and desperate. “Case, please?—”

I pressed my lips together, the tears finally breaking free and slicing hot, silent paths down my cheeks. “I love him. I love him so much that I can’t imagine breathing without him. I love him so much that it feels like he’s carved into my soul.”

He dropped his gaze, the fight leaving him, and it was like watching a light go out. The silence stretched between us, a chasm that neither of us could cross.

“Goodbye, Gray,” I whispered, the words breaking me apart even as I said them. He didn’t move, didn’t try to stop me as Iturned back toward Parker. I left the boy and walked to the man who made up my whole future.

And with each step I left a trail of my memories with Gray behind me.

Parker had stood up from the bench, and he was waiting for me with outstretched arms. I fell into his embrace and let him lead me away with a soft kiss to my hair as we walked.

I didn’t look back until we were far away.

The night had swallowed Gray, and with it, the last pieces of who we’d been.

CHAPTER 33

PARKER

My brother was a fucking rock god.

We were backstage, watching him perform. He’d been touring with the Sounds of Us for the past year, and he’d finally made it to Tennessee for a concert.

My chest was tight with pride as he sang to the packed crowd that filled the whole fucking stadium.

Even if he was wearing feathers in his cowboy hat again.

I glanced at Casey as the music blasted through the speakers. She looked mesmerized, her eyes wide, her body frozen in place, like she couldn’t quite believe where she was. I knew she was nervous; she had been the whole car ride here, but now? Now it was like she was in a trance.

I covered her eyes.

“Hey,” she cried, pushing my hands off.

“Cole snores terribly loud, and his farts literally clear rooms,” I told her.

She blinked at me, the same look she always had when I said something fairly crazy.

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