Page 38 of If You Never Come Back
I shake my head and plop onto the couch. The moment my body hits the plush cushioning, my muscles relax. Remy’s soft footsteps follow behind me.
I rest my hands on my knees. “Look. I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t freak out.”
Remy’s brow wrinkles. “Okay…”
“Wes is back. I saw him. At Dandy Lime the other night.”
Remy’s jaw falls opens so fast, I wince at the popping sound the sudden movement makes.
“No freaking way.” He rubs my arm. “Crap, cuz. I’m sorry, I—”
I shake my head. “Don’t be sorry. I’m fine.”
Again, he raises an eyebrow at me. “You’re fine?”
I nod. Remy gestures to the mess of paintings on my floor.
“I refuse to cry over him anymore. I’m working instead.”
Remy scoots next to me. “Shay, it’s okay to be sad.”
“I’m not sad.” My voice reaches that hard tone that always hits when I’m annoyed.
“No, I mean…okay, don’t get me wrong. I’m so happy that you’re not crying over him anymore. But try not to shove your feelings aside.”
“I’m not.” My tone comes off harder than I mean it to.
“All I’m saying is that sometimes you can think you’re okay, but then something happens to set you off. It’s happened to me before.”
I quietly soak in his words.
“Wes was a big part of your life, Shay. And he hurt you. It’s awesome to see you strong like always, but a random wave of sadness or frustration can hit. It’ll be easier to weather if you acknowledge it instead of just trying to suppress everything.”
My gaze falls to my lap. Everything Remy says is true.
“That’s good advice, Remy. Thank you.”
He slips his arm around me, cuddling me into his chest. I melt into his hold, thankful that despite all my proclamations of strength, my cousin knows I could use a hug right now.
“What, no lecturing me about faking it till I make it?” I say.
“You’re doing just fine. If one of my exes had left me the way Wes left you, then showed back up unannounced a year to the day we met—on Valentine’s Day of all days—I would have spent a week on the floor curled up in the fetal position.”
I laugh and lean against Remy’s shoulder, closing my eyes. Against the darkness, I see Wes in a crystal-clear flashback from days ago. His tousled hair, his close-cropped beard, those rich brown eyes riddled with sorrow. No matter how strong I try to be, I can’t deny how I’m still physically attracted to Wes.
“He looked good, Remy,” I groan. “So damn good.”
“Bastard.”
I open my eyes and grab my phone from the coffee table. I sort through the missed calls and messages from Remy, then focus on what’s left.
One missed call, one voicemail, and one text message.
“I bet I know who those are from,” Remy says.
I stare at the screen until it fades to black. “Part of me wants to delete these without even looking at them.”
“I can do that for you, you know,” Remy says. “I’ll delete all of them so you don’t have to deal with them.”
