Page 42 of Unbearable

“Yeah, well, he didn’t. Never mind, forget it. I’ll call my dad.”

He cut me off. “I’ll be there in ten.”

Before I could respond, he hung up.

Great.

FIFTEEN

Trent

I AM NOT WHO I WAS - CHASE PEÑA

As I navigatedthrough the darkened streets of Woodstone Falls, my mind buzzed with a mix of emotions. I wasn’t entirely surprised that her grandpa’s old truck broke down. That thing was fucking ancient, and I was amazed it had lasted this long. I knew Sawyer would get it fixed up, no matter the cost. He loved that truck, which was probably why their grandpa had left it to him in the first place.

My mind wandered to my complicated history with Dotty. We grew up together, our lives intertwined from before we even learned to talk.

The last summer before we both left Woodstone, our friendship had shifted into something deeper, though neither of us would openly acknowledge it, especially now. We had our share of mistakes, but the bond we shared was undeniable, even if neither of us was willing to submit to it.

As I drove, the streetlights cast long shadows on the road, each passing moment only adding to the knot that coiled in my gut.

Dotty had really gone out with Henry.

MyDotty had agreed to a date with one of my good friends. And I liked Henry, I really did, but that didn’t mean I wanted him near her.

I didn’t wantanyonenear her.

Since she left, all I accomplished was staring at the wall in complete silence. I couldn’t focus on anything. I tried reading, watching TV, cleaning, working out—literally nothing took my mind off the fact that she was out with someone who wasn’t me.

When I got her call, I ran out the door mid-rage workout since I had already cleaned my entire house from top to bottom. Sweat still dripped down my face, and I put on a baseball cap to hide my messy hair. I probably should have changed my clothes or donesomething, but I hated the idea of Dotty sitting alone in the parking lot, especially when she had someone watching her every move.

Part of me could never shake Dotty out of my mind.

Would I ever be able to stop comparing every girl I dated to her? Would I ever be able to settle down with someone, knowing there was only one girl in the world that made me whole?

It felt unfair to put someone through that, which is why it’s not a surprise that I’ve never really dated seriously. I had some casual relationships but never was able to even put a label on anything. I had no one to blame but myself. I fucked everything up years ago and continued to now.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I spotted the old truck in the distance. Dotty sat on the truck bed, her hands resting in her lap, feet swinging back and forth.

She looked like a dream.Myfucking dream.

My breath stalled, and I realized in that moment, I couldn’t stay away. I could try for the rest of my damn lifeand fail every single fucking time. The pull to Dotty was too much to resist, especially when she was so damn close.

When I approached, I realized tears streamed down her face, and my heart instantly dropped. I pushed down my anger at the possibility of the tears being because of her date and took a breath, stepping out of my truck.

“What’s wrong?” I walked to her, opening my arms.

She tried to steady herself before giving up and melting into me, tears continuing to fall. She hiccuped. “Nothing, I’m fine. Just exhausted.”

I pulled back just enough to tilt her chin up. The small gasp she made in response made me want to burn the entire world down for this girl.

“What’s going on? Is this because of Henry?”

She used her sleeve to pat under her eyes. “What? No, Henry was great.” My jaw ticked. She continued, “But I told him we should just be friends.”

The tension released the smallest amount, and I couldn’t tell if that was because she told him she only wanted to be friends, or if it meant I didn’t have to go and kick his ass.

“What is it then? If it’s the truck, it will be fine. I’m sure Sawyer will fix whatever is wrong.”

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