Page 62 of Even if It Hurts

“Right. And how do you know it was the same for her?”

I’d been too stunned and hurt by what I’d thought I’d walked in on then, but what if the warning look Jackson had given Heather had been a reminder and not something born from frustration?

What if Jackson’s hesitation after her last question had been out of hope rather than uncertainty and doubt in me? Because now I couldn’t stop thinking about how hopeless her laugh had sounded. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d vainly and incorrectly assumed Heather had been talking about my leaving when she’d questioned Jackson for acting like the last six years had never happened...

But what if it’d been the last six years ofthem? And what if Jackson’s guilt when he’d realized I was there had been because I’d walked in on them and not because they’d been talking about me?

“I bumped into her tonight,” I told Wren and tried to swallow past the knot in my throat. “She seemed so angry with me and told me I should’ve let him go six years ago.”

Wren carefully studied me before saying, “I would’ve said something if I’d ever known for sure. It’s just been something that hasn’t seemed quite right.” At my dejected hum, she asked, “Is that why you look like you’ve gone ten rounds with an angry bull?”

“Wow, thanks,” I mumbled sarcastically and smacked at her leg when a carefree laugh bubbled from her. “It’s—it’s been a day.”

“Well, don’t save all the drama for yourself,” she said as if she wanted to share in this wreck of a day with me. Tipping her chin at me as she settled against her headboard, she added, “I already asked but I’ll ask again: Who’re we burying?”

“No one,” I said with a flippant roll of my eyes, even as I proceeded to tell her about my day in reverse. From why I still hadn’t had coffee today to everything withThe Jerkto the nightmarish proposal from Jackson—leaving out the reason behind the dusting of bruises on my jaw.

“I can’t believe Jackson actually thought you’d say yes after everything this weekend, and especially with a proposal likethat.”

“I know,” I agreed, the words barely making it past the emotion clogging my throat as I shifted so I was fully facing her. “Wren, there’s something else.”

“Are you pregnant?”

“What? No!” A harsh breath fled from me at the asinine assumption. “How could I even—I just got home two weeks ago and haven’t—just, no.”

She shrugged like there were clearly other times, places, and men.

And I guess, to my sister, there were. But up until I’d come face-to-face with Asher Briggs, there had only been Jackson for me.

“Anyway, it isn’t anything like that. It’s—” Just like that, anger and grief rose up to consume me as I looked at my effortlessly happy sister. When I continued, my voice shook and wavered, but my eyes stayed mercifully dry. “You should’ve been told a long time ago—we both should’ve. And even though I don’t wanna be the one who tells you, you deserve to know.”

“If it’s about Dad, I already know.”

I went completely, utterly still as that betrayal burned hotter. “What?”

Wren’s head moved in small but quick nods for so long before she gave a harsh shake as she quickly swiped at her cheeks. “Yeah, no, I already know.”

“And you didn’t . . . Wren . . .”

“What, tell you?” she asked, sniffing in the middle of a forced laugh. “Why would I tell you, Lainey?”

“Because I’m your sister,” I cried out accusatorily. “That’s our dad!”

“And you would’ve dropped everything if you’d found out,” she shot back defensively. “I figured if Dad didn’t tell you—both of us—when you graduated, then I’d tell you myself. Then everything fell apart because you wanted to chase a new dream, and I knew when you found out, you’d drop everything, and they’d trap you in those fields forever. So, I didn’t say anything.”

I sat there, too stunned and hurt to speak as nearly a minute passed. “How long have you known?”

“Right before Christmas,” she said solemnly. “Overheard Mom and Dad one night.”

My chest pitched with the force of my next exhale, but I just stood and started for the door.

“Lainey—”

“No,” I said over her and twisted to see the remorse mixing with her resolve. “I’m so aware of what I kept from everyone, but like I told Jackson this morning, I would’ve never kept this from you. Clearly.”

I left before she could say anything else, then hurried to my room.

Less than ten minutes later, I was loading two suitcases into my SUV while my parents demanded to know what I was doing and what happened.

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