Page 40 of Ride By Your Side

“A little,” she admits, pulling open another drawer as she works on clearing that one out too. “Honestly, I love seeing them happy. It’s a total win for the middle school me who predicted this happening. But after everything with Pete—and, well, us—it stings to know that I don’t have that too. So yeah, it’s a little tough to watch.”

I stand up, reaching for the large tape gun and move to tape off the box she’d just finished packing. “Yeah, sorry about that. I hate that I’ve somehow gone and made things even more difficult for you.”

She quickly shakes her head as she looks my way. “No, don’t be. I know our situation is a bit messy,” she admits with a scrunch of her nose, “but honestly, our friendship and knowing I have a place to stay are probably the only reasons I’m not completely losing it right now.”

“I’m just glad I can help,” I say, leaning against the dresser as I watch her continue to sort through the drawer, meticulously separating the contents into two distinct piles.

“You’re a huge help, and I couldn’t be more grateful for you and your sister,” she adds, her dark eyes looking up to meet mine.

My stomach flips as I watch the corners of her lips curve into a smile, lighting up her entire face. I’ve always known is Veronica was a beautiful woman, but damn! When did she get to be this gorgeous? Or have I just always chosen to be this oblivious?

I do my best to smile back, making sure not to reveal the true effect she’s having on me. Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to noticeas she returns to sorting through the drawer, until she freezes, her eyes locking onto its nearly empty contents.

My brows furrow. “What? Is everything okay?” I ask, my back straightening.

“I completely forgot that this is where I put it,” she says, lifting the giant rock of a wedding ring. I had known she’d done something with it, since I noticed she’d come back into the car without it the day she ran away, and we left on our trip, but beyond that, I hadn’t given it much thought.

“Fuck. That puts the one I gave you to shame,” I lamely offer, hoping to get her to smile, since clearly seeing that ring again has stirred up a bunch of old emotions.

A forced chuckle escapes her lips, but her eyes remain fixed on the ring as she idly spins it between her fingers. “Yeah, well, it seems like this ring meant about as much as yours does, so a lot of good that did me, huh?” she frowns, her shoulders drooping as she moves to sit on the bed I vacated just moments ago.

“You’re not regretting running away, though, right?” I ask cautiously as I take a seat beside her.

“No.” She sighs, shaking her head. “I just... I can’t believe I let it get that far. I feel so stupid.”

“Hey,” I say, scooting closer as I drape my arm across her shoulders. I’m not usually this touchy-feely, but I find myself willing to do whatever I can to shield her from the pain. “Listen to me, he’s the idiot here, not you. He’s the one who treated you like shit and let someone as amazing as you slip through his fingers. You did nothing wrong, and you weren’t stupid. He led you to believe he was someone else. Nobody can fault you for wanting to see the best in someone you loved. In my book, that doesn’t make you foolish—it makes you brave. You opened yourself up to someone, and that takes guts. If you ask me, it only proves even more how truly amazing you are. He’s the onlyidiot here, and we both know he never actually deserved you. So please, don’t blame yourself.”

“But I do blame myself,” she says, releasing a shaky breath as the ring falls into her palm and she closes her fist around it. “I should’ve known better. I ignored all the signs, and I let him change me. I let him have control, and—”

I interrupt. “Vee, you have to forgive yourself. Should things have gotten that far? Probably not, but you were in love and giving someone you cared about the benefit of the doubt. He’s the one who took advantage of you and the situation. This isn’t on you. This is all on him,” I continue, my hand gliding softly up and down her arm.

“Do you really expect anyone to see it that way?” she asks, tilting her head up to look at me, her sad, brown eyes meeting mine.

“Honestly? Probably not, at least not in this town. But do you want to know my official motto that gets me through all the bullshit this town puts me through?”

“Hmm?” she hums softly, a questioning tilt to her head.

“Fuck ‘em.”

I thankfully earn a smile as the corners of her lips lift. “That’s really your motto?”

“Yes, and it hasn’t steered me wrong yet. If I let everyone’s thoughts and opinions of me affect me, I’d have gone crazy years ago. The only opinion I care about is Blair’s, and even that is iffy.” I shrug as her smile only grows. “As long as I know my truth and am proud of myself, and stand by the decisions I make, that’s all that really matters.”

She nods, looking down at her closed palm. “Well, unfortunately, I’m not so sure I’m proud of any of my recent decisions. Not only did I wait too long and run away, costing all of us thousands of dollars, but I married my best friend’s olderbrother on a drunken whim. Pretty sure those aren’t decisions anyone should be proud of.”

I place a hand over my heart as if her words hit me right where it hurts. “Ouch!”

She lets out a playful huff and nestles her head into the space between my shoulder and chest.

“What?” I innocently ask. “I mean, you did just say that you weren’t proud of our marriage. I mean, come on. Way to cut a guy down.”

“Oh, okay,” she starts, clearly not buying what I’m selling. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re happy we got married and have absolutely no regrets?”

“Not exactly, but there are worse people I could have ended up married to.”

“Bullshit!” She laughs, a sound that actually sounds rather magical right about now. “There’s no way Miles from two weeks ago would ever say that there’s possibly someone else he could be married to who’s worse than me.”

My hand drops from around her shoulders and I push myself off the bed. “Well, I’m no longer the same Miles I was two weeks ago,” I admit. “And I have to believe that you aren’t the same person you were back then, either. We’ve both learned from our mistakes, and maybe we’ve also learned that maybe we were wrong and that certain people aren’t always who we think they are or expect them to be.”

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