Page 38 of Every Broken Promise
Watching Astrid’s peaceful face, I drifted off to sleep, thinking I could do this for the rest of my life.
SIXTEEN
Coming backto Oakhill Creek had been a mistake. I liked to think I was a strong woman and that I could handle rejection, but damn, lying to myself only made it worse.
It hurt.
It fucking stung to know Tyler was able to pick up all our broken pieces and mend himself back together. Forget the fact that I had feelings for him, and he never reciprocated them. That was fine. I couldn’t fault him for not feeling the same kind of love I did, but the fact that he could flush all those years of friendship down the toilet in one night fucking killed me.
Leaving never made me stronger.
Leaving was a temporary relief to an open wound I refused to look at anymore, and now that we were forced to be in the same town, I could feel the burn and the sting it still carried.
I wanted to leave this town. Being here wasn’t home—hell, I don’t think my home was here since the beginning. My home had been my parents and him. And it was for that same exact reason I couldn’t go anywhere. I had my parents, who seemed happier than I had ever seen them in any video call, and that would have to be enough to sustain me. It would have to be enough to keep me here for a few years.
My younger self had attached our family to the Kanes, and now it was up to me to deal with the consequences. This town would just have to be big enough to hold the two of us.
“Are you okay, Astrid?” Rachel broke the silence once we were parked in her driveway. I had been too lost in my own head to even notice us driving away.
“Yeah,” I lied. “I’m tired. Guess I’m not hacked for the nighttime life.”
I could feel her staring at me, but I didn’t meet her eyes because she might just call me out on my bullshit.
“Tell me about it,” she murmured. “I am ready to go lay in bed.”
My shoulders relaxed once I knew she would be dropping it. I turned to her with a small smile plastered on my face. Anything was better than being asked about Ty. I wouldn’t even know how to begin describing our mess—mostly because I felt so pathetic about it.
“Zeke was flirting with you,” I teased her.
Her eyes widened, but she shook her head instantly.
“Ah no, don’t even go there.”
My eyes narrowed at the blush staining her cheeks.
“Because you already went there, didn’t you?”
This didn’t surprise me. Zeke and Adam were probably the biggest manwhores this town had. When I was in high school, I didn’t know much about manwhores, but I knew Zeke was one, and I don’t think much had changed in the last few years. He just gave that forever-bachelor vibe.
“Since you’re so tired, you should go to sleep,” she pointed toward my house.
I scrunched my nose at her dismissal, but I had a feeling that if I pressed the subject, she would do the same about Tyler.
“We will try this again next week,” I let her know. “The night is still young if you want to call Zeke to keep you company.”
Rachel didn’t miss a beat.
“Sure, I’ll head back right now and let Tyler know you were asking for him.”
I gasped.
“You wouldn’t.”
She got out of her fancy car and waved me away.
“I’ll be there first thing Monday morning for some coffee,” I threatened.
My parents were still lying on the couch watching another movie. When I walked in, they both turned to look at me.
