Page 114 of Hellbent
“I would,” I say.
He lifts his glass and takes another slow sip before raising his eyes to me.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about, Max.”
I shake my head. “You just got back. And now you’re leaving again. Everything’s fucked and you’re just...gone.”
“You’re not alone,” he says, quietly.
“That’s how I’m going to feel without you.”
His eyes are blue and clear and impossibly patient. “You’re not being abandoned, Max. You’re safe here. You’ve got a place. That doesn’t change just because I’m not walking in and out of the garage every day.”
“But itdoeschange,” I say quietly. “Ryder doesn’t want me here anymore. And I…can’t go to Jake and Damian’s.”
He leans back a little, watching me. Like he’s letting the silence pull the truth to the surface.
Then, softly, “What’s going on between you and Ryder?”
My throat tightens.
“What do you mean?” I try.
He doesn’t press. Just tips his head, studying me the way he does when a car won’t start and he already knows why.
“Something shifted,” he says. “I can’t put my finger on it, but…it’s there.”
I glance away. “It’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t feel like nothing.”
I exhale through my nose, barely a sound. My fingers tighten around the wine glass, and I feel the heat rising in my face before I can stop it.
He just waits.
The silence stretches, and finally, I murmur, “We crossed a line.”
Wyatt nods, like that’s what he figured.
He waits a beat, then asks, “Did it mean something to you?”
My throat goes tight. I nod.
He studies me a second longer, like he’s weighing how deep the hurt goes.
“You care about him.”
It’s not a question. Just a truth laid down between us.
I frown, consider denying it, and then nod, slow and ashamed.
“Yeah…I guess so.”
“I figured.”
When I speak again, my voice is a whisper. “I don’t know if he cares back.”
I blink hard, trying to keep my voice steady.
