Page 91 of Stealing Sunshine

It’s nice to have both types of people in my life. I don’t know what I did to deserve them, though.

“Yeah. She’s somewhere,” I answer.

Anna’s brows climb her forehead. “Somewhere? Aren’t we all going together?”

I turn away from them and shove my shirt sleeves up my forearms, needing to not feel so fucking covered. “She’s in her room, Anna. I don’t keep tabs on her every move.”

“But you live together,” she argues, tapping her knees. “I would have liked for her to be here with us. We could have gotten to know her a bit better.”

My tongue burns from the dig of my teeth into it. I push away from the dresser and start digging through the pile of boots cascading out of my closet. The pair I constantly gravitate toward are missing, and my temper flares.

“If she wanted to be here for some kumbaya girl chat, she would have been, Anna. She’s the one hiding away in her bedroom. I haven’t locked her away like a fairy-tale princess,” I snap, standing straight and tipping my head back before cursing under my breath.

A sharp inhale fills the room before Aurora clears her throat. “Alright, so, obviously there’s some trouble there, then. And I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it?”

My jaw pulses from how hard I’m clenching my teeth. There’s nothing right to say. It’s all a giant mess of hurt and regret and this stupid fucking yearning sensation that’s been driving me out of my goddamn mind for three years. I’m one breath from ripping my hair out of my skull from pure frustration.

Suddenly, I’m wishing the only person here was Poppy. The two women watching me right now have no idea that my relationship with Daisy isn’t real. I can’t talk to them about this. Not the truth of it.

“She’s upset with me for something,” I reveal cautiously.

Anna blinks, a soft smile appearing. “Have you apologized?”

“How can I apologize if I don’t know what I did wrong?”

“You could go to her and ask. This barbeque is at her parents’ house, Ice. Not to mention, it’s supposed to be your first time meeting them as their daughter’s girlfriend. Don’t go into it with bad energy,” she says.

Rory twists her mouth. “Hashing shit out right before leaving isn’t always the right thing either, Anna. It could make things worse.”

“Great. So, I’m fucked either way, then.”

“You know, maybethat’sthe problem. Have you two been intimate at all?” Anna’s question is innocent, but I physically reel from it.

Not out of anger but because I know deep down that that’s the problem. Daisy’s issue is me and what kissing me made her feel. Which was clearly nothing good. Talk about a sucker punch to the fucking gut.

“Let’s go. I don’t want to be late,” I force out, snatching a random pair of boots from the floor.

My best friends jump off the bed and race after me, attempting to keep up with my furious pace. I keep my mouth shut, knowing if I open it again, I’m going to ruin everything that Daisy and I have done up to this point.

I’ll expose the truth.

“Wait up, Bryce! I didn’t mean to overstep. You’ve never shied away from talking about those things before, and I just didn’t think it was different this time. I’m sorry.”

Guilt slashes deep, leaving me with a gaping hole in my chest. “It’s okay, Anna. I didn’t mean to snap at you either.”

She grabs me by my arm and tugs hard enough that I’m forced to spin to face her. My guilt transforms to annoyance before disappearing altogether.

It’s not Anna holding me. The eyes that dig into mine with a startling familiarity belong to Daisy. I should have known from the searing warmth of her touch.

My pulse hammers. She’s so close, so fucking pretty it hurtsto look at her. To see the perfect image she makes in a pair of leggings and bright yellow blouse that she’s hiding beneath a leather jacket.

The leather jacket I haven’t been able to find since I offered it to her our first night at Peakside.

I don’t realize that I’ve been fisting my hands until she takes one and pries it open.

“What’s going on?”

The concern in her voice almost has me spilling everything to her, but it’s not enough to make me forget what’s been going on. How we went from sleeping in the same bed with her fingers running a constant path through my hair and having our first kiss in an exhausted haze under the pretence of practice to this utter silence. It’s been jarring, to say the least.

---