Page 34 of Fractured Rhythm

“No. You were never that. You were always more than enough.”

His voice cut through my rage, but it was barely tamped down by his words.

“Clearly, I wasn’t. Your relationship with my brother was more important than us. Than my feelings. I want to punch him, but I can’t, and I don’t know what hurts more.”

He scooted closer to me, wrapping his arm around my back and tugging me close. I both ached for his embrace and wanted to shove him away for touching me. I was too raw. Everything was too raw.

“I can’t do this. I can’t sit here with you and pretend like you haven’t just gutted me. After all this time. Is that why you pulled away every time I saw you after we broke up?”

“I regretted letting you believe I’d disrespected you as soon as the words were out of my mouth, but I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“Well, you weren’t, Bash. You fucking weren’t. I can’t be here. I need to go. Can you tell Holly and the guys I had a headache?”

“I’ll take you home,” he said, his hand brushing mine, trying to link our fingers back together when I stood up quickly.

“No. I can’t be in the same room with you, let alone in a cab.” I swiped on my phone and opened my Uber app.

“Please, I don’t want you to leave like this.”

“I can’t right now, Bash.”

“Cassie. Yes, I was an absolute idiot for what I did, but I’ve always loved you.”

“That’s just it, Bash. If you’d really loved me, this never would’ve happened.” I glanced down at my phone, unable to look at him anymore. “My car is pulling up in two minutes.”

I stepped away from him and headed down the stairs, ignoring him calling out to me. I texted Holly that I had to leave. She’d get the message when she finally left the dance floor. I hated bailing on her, but the guys would take care of her and I wasn’t fit for company with anyone.

I slipped into the waiting car as soon as I walked out of the club and leaned my head against the back of the seat.

What had just happened?

BASH

“Dude, you wantto explain why Cassie bolted out of here?” Jax asked, glaring at me from the top of the stairs.

Cassie had passed Jax on her way out, but she hadn’t paused when both of us had called out to her.

“I finally told her what I should’ve said years ago. All this time she thought I’d cheated on her with some groupie. That’s why we broke up. But I lied to her. I never cheated on her. Jamie found out we were hooking up and reminded me that she deserved better. Her life was just starting, and he thought I needed to end whatever we were doing before I really hurt her.” The words tumbled out with a strangled laugh at the end.

Whatever we were doing?

We’d been in-fucking-love, and I’d destroyed that.

By that point Tristan and Holly had also made it back upstairs, and all three looked at me with wide eyes and slack jaws.

“I’m sorry. You want to run that by us again?” Jax asked.

“You son of a bitch. She was heartbroken. I should’ve kicked your ass as soon as she told me,” Holly said, taking a step toward me before Tristan wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Let me see if I understand. You and Cassie were hooking up, which we all knew about—you’re shit at secrets, especially with her giggling whenever you were around her,” Tristan started, and my heart clenched.

I missed that giggle.

“So Jamie got all big brother on you and told you to back off, and then you let her believe you hooked up with a groupie and broke up with her?”

I nodded.

“You dumb fuck,” Tristan said. “I knew something bad had happened when whatever you had with her ended, but I had no idea you were that much of a moron. She loved you. Had for a long time. At least Jamie was right about one thing: you didn’t deserve her. Especially if you gave her up so easily.”

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