Page 16 of GAF Factor

“I’m not answering that.”

“Because you were with him?”

“Because I shouldn’t have to. You should trust me. But I forgot. That’s something you don’t know how to do.”

“I do trust you. What I kept from you was never about trust!”

“Then tell me about your brother,” she snapped.

I stopped instantly, feeling like my back was up against the wall. “No.”

“Because you don’t trust me.”

“Because it’s not something I want to share.”

“You shared it with her.”

“Only because she was intertwined with the senator,” I argued.

“You already talked to the press about it.”

“And I said all I was willing to say,” I argued, hating that she was trying to dig deeper into things that I would rather leave in the past. Couldn’t she see that this was an old wound that I didn’t want to pick at?

“So, open up to me. Talk to me about that.”

“I—I can’t.”

“You want to know about what I went through just days ago, yet you’re not willing to tell me about something that happened years ago?”

“It’s—Fuck! Why do you need to know?”

Tears filled her eyes as she slowly shook her head. “If you don’t know that, then this will never work.”

“You’re right,” I said, knowing this was the end of the line. “This won’t work.”

I knew it wasn’t just about my brother. I would be defending myself until the end of time. I’d messed up too much in the beginning, and it would haunt me for the rest of my life if I stayed with her. I loved her, but I didn’t want her constantly questioning me for the mistakes I made in the beginning of our relationship.

“Kavanaugh, I wanted it to work.”

“It’s not your fault,” I told her honestly. I stared up at the ceiling, wishing I had the words to make it right. “I wish I had done so much differently.”

“Me too,” she snorted out a laugh.

I pulled her into my arms, my heart breaking as I held her. Fuck, I was going to miss her. Her smiles and those bright green eyes. Everything about her was so magnetic. She had once beenmy best friend, but maybe that was the point. Maybe sometimes you couldn’t go back.

“I’m gonna miss you,” I whispered.

Her arms wrapped around my back and held on tight. “Me too.”

Pressing a kiss to her head, I asked, “Are you going to be alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” she sniffed, pulling back from me.

“I mean with the dreams.”

She shrugged, which told me she wouldn’t, but she would push through. “What about you? Are you going to be okay?”

“Well, you’ll probably still receive texts from me every hour. Make sure you answer them.”

---