Page 128 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

Tears have begun to amass in her green eyes, and seeing her like this feels like getting stabbed in the chest and abdomen.

“W-Why? What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?”

I never hated her.

I thought I did, but I was wrong. I hated what she represented. I hated the idea of her. A fake, distorted image of her I’d made up in my head before I got to know her.

But Lacey Mattson is nothing like I thought she would be. She’s the best fucking person I’ve ever met. And I’m so hopelessly in love with her I can’t stand it.

“He never told us why. He just said you’d ruined his life and he was going to get his revenge, no matter what.That’swhy he asked you to tutor him.”

I only realize I’m crying when salty tears coat my mouth.

“Lace, you have to believe me, I didn’t know you then. I was a fucking idiot holding a grudge that had nothing to do with you. I’d do anything to take it back. You have to know that.”

Every step I take in her direction is met with a step backward from her.

“Lace, please, I… I love you.”

This is the first time I’ve said that.

Fuck.

I wish it didn’t have to happen this way.

Tears are flowing down her face freely, but she doesn’t allow herself to break down, staring blankly ahead of her.

Dia starts to pull on Lacey’s wrist, trying to get her to leave. “Let’s get out of here.”

She doesn’t look at me, which somehow hurts even more than if she’d just stared me dead in the eye. It’s as though I can feel her giving up on me, detaching herself completely.

“Don’t ever speak to me again” is all she says.

On that note, she wipes her face with the back of her hand, spins on her axis, and walks away. Aaron comes up behind me as I watch the girl who made me believe in love kick me out of her life.

Then he says something I’m afraid will haunt me to my grave.

“Congratulations, Jacobs.You broke her heart.”

Lacey

“Honey, are you awake? I made lunch.” Daniel’s voice and the sound of his knocking on my bedroom door startle me awake.

Reality comes crashing into me, and I sit up in bed, blinking my senses back to life. My first reflex is to reach for my phone, which is still plugged in on my nightstand, and tap the screen.

Only it doesn’t light up.

“Honey? You alive?” my stepdad calls again.

An empty battery symbol pops up on my phone, and I curse at the realization that my charging cable died on me—again. I bought a bunch of these chargers online for a suspiciously cheap price a while back, and they’ve been breaking nonstop. I’ve gone through all five of them in three months, and this was my last one, aside from the one in my car.

“Sorry, my alarm didn’t go off. I’ll be right out,” I shout and throw my legs over the side of my bed.

My cheeks hurt.

My eyes, too.

I skim my face with the tip of my fingers, reminded of the way I got into bed and broke into silent sobs. I’m talkinghold your stomach while you struggle to breathesobs.

---