Page 74 of Until Forever Falls

“You didn’t want to. You left, Dylan. You disappeared. What did you think was going to happen? That Rockport was just gonna pause and wait for you to come back?”

Her words split me open, and I blink repeatedly, caught off guard. I wasn’t expecting the hit, even though I should have. She’s right in ways I don’t want to admit. I thought leaving meant cutting myself free, severing every last thread. But now I see the loose ends I never even knew were there—things I abandoned before I realized they belonged to me.

Chloe shrugs, a little too pleased with herself. “Well, sorry. I just assumed you knew. My bad.” Her apology isn’t remotely sincere, but that’s not the point. She’s already gotten what she came for.

I shove the door open and step back into the gym. I don’t stop. I don’t second-guess. I barely acknowledge Aaron at the table before pinpointing Brooks. He’s laughing at the bar, seemingly untroubled, and my control burns out. He doesn’t even see me coming—not until I plant myself directly in front of him and demand his attention.

“Did you know?” The question erupts before I have time to reel it in. My voice is louder than I intended, drawing the attention of others, but I don’t care.

He frowns, his drink paused halfway to his mouth. “Know what?”

“About Blake,” I say, disbelief coating each word. “Did you know about her? My—mysister. Did you know and not tell me?”

His expression falls, and I can see the guilt flicker across his face.

That’s all I need.

“You did,” I accuse, my voice rising. “You knew. Brooks, I’ve been here for days, and you never said a word. You let me walk around this town, completely clueless, and you didn’t think I deserved to know?”

He sets his drink down, his shoulders tensing as he straightens up. “I was going to tell you,” he cautions. “I just…didn’t think it was the right time. I didn’t want to throw that at you when you were already—”

I cut him off. “When I was already what? Dealing with being back here? Seeing my mom? Grieving my brother? Feeling like my entire past is staring me in the face?” My voice hardens. “You don’t get to decide when the ‘right time’ is, Brooks. You should’ve told me.”

“I was trying to protect you,” he protests, but it only infuriates me more.

“Oh, please! Try a new excuse, Brooks. Hell, maybe try the truth for once! You think you’re protecting me? Tell me, when has thateverworked? When has keeping me in the dark ever made shit better?”

I don’t give him the satisfaction of offering me another lie. I spin on my heel and walk away, my thoughts a fucking cyclone. A sister. I have a sister. And somehow, the whole damn town knew except me. As if I’m some delicate little thing they have to protect.

But that’s not who I am anymore. Not even close.

My footsteps echo in the empty parking lot, each step faster than the last as I try to outrun everything—Chloe’s words, Brooks’ silence, the sudden reality that nothing in my life is what I thought it was.

“Dylan, wait!” Aaron’s voice carries from behind me, quick and panicked. I don’t turn around. I don’t have the patience for this.

“Dylan, come on!” That voice isn’t Aaron’s. It’s Brooks’. It’s deeper, rougher, with just enough edge to stop me in my tracks for just a moment. “Don’t do this again. Don’t run away!”

Run away? He has no right to say that to me, not after everything he’s done. I force myself to keep moving, heading toward Aaron’s rental car.

Aaron reaches me first. “Dylan, what the hell is going on? Are you okay?” He grabs my arm gently, but the irritation it sparks shoots straight through me, rattles me like a goddamn earthquake.

I shake him off. “I just need to go.”

“Go where? What happened back there?” His voice rises, and I know he deserves an explanation. But I don’t have it in me right now.

“Can we not do this here, Aaron? Please,” I beg, hoping he’ll let it drop.

But of course, now he doesn’t. “No, we’re not just glossing over this. Not this time. First, you ditch me without a word, and now this guy is chasing you down like his life depends on it. So tell me—what the fuck is going on between you two?”

“Nothing!” The word bursts out of me, too forceful to sound convincing.

“You expect me to believe that? Because it doesn’t feel like nothing, Dylan. It hasn’t felt like nothing since we ran into him back in Maine.”

I wrap my arms around myself, trying to steady my nerves. “I told you, Aaron. Brooks was a friend from high school, and that’s all there is to it. Can we just leave it alone? Can we just go back to the hotel?”

“No, we can’t,” he snaps. “Because every time I see him, every time his name comes up, this fucking shadow falls over you. And now this?” He gestures back toward the school, frustration radiating off him. “There’s something you’re not telling me. Fuck, I didn’t even know you had a brother until tonight! What else haven’t you told me?”

I turn away, hoping to end this, but his voice stops me.

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