Page 46 of Lines We Cross
But mostly I was just heartbroken over the loss of my first love.
Again.
19
Max
It was Tuesday.
Freaking Tuesday and I still hadn’t gotten to talk to Rae.
At first, I was baffled by her behavior. Then angry she’d decided she knew what my decision was. Then I was hurt she’d think so little of me to think I’d run back to baseball at the first sign of interest after we’d talked all night long about building a life together. And then around Monday evening I got scared.
Petrified I was losing Rae before I even really had her.
The doorbell rang, and even though I’d just talked to Heath and he’d told me he was coming over before I lost my mind altogether, my heart sped up thinking Rae might be here to work things out between us.
I swung the door open and felt myself deflate at the sight of Heath’s ugly mug.
“Dude, you look like crap,” he said by way of greeting.
I turned around and left him standing there. He could come in or he could leave, I honestly couldn’t care. Flopping onto the couch, I took a sip of beer and grimaced when he came walking in to wreck my pity party.
He sniffed, looking around the place. “I got here just in time, I see.”
“What do you want, Aston?” I growled.
He took off his leather jacket and had a seat on my recliner, the one that looked like a rumpled mess you’d find out on the street corner with a free sign on it, but made up for in dependable comfortability. Heath sat back in the chair and crossed his ankle over his knee like he had all the time in the world to chat while my whole world fell apart.
“So, what happened?”
I would have rolled my eyes if they hadn’t felt like they were coated in sand. “I already told you. Everything was great. Then I got a phone call from Coach and she freaked out. Ran out the door so fast my head spun. Now I can’t get her to answer the phone or the door. I don’t know what to do, man.”
Heath sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Listen. She obviously freaked over something huge. Skylar isn’t one of those girls who pitches a fit if things aren’t exactly to her liking. She rolls with the punches. Except when the punch knocks her flat.”
I nodded, agreeing with everything he said. “Yeah, but if she won’t tell me what it was, I can’t make things right.”
Heath chuckled—actually chuckled—while I wondered how I could live in Nickel Bay the rest of my life with Rae showing up around town and trampling all over my heart. Knowing what her kiss felt like, but also knowing I could never have her.
“Seriously?” Heath stood up quickly and grabbed his coat. “You disappoint me, Duke.”
He strode out of the house and slammed the door. Good riddance to him. Didn’t ask him to come over anyway. I took another sip of beer and wondered what had gotten into him. Supposedly my best friend and he kicked me when I was down? That was next-level cold.
I sat on that couch for an undetermined amount of time, drinking my beer and watching a preseason baseball game. Didn’t even care who won, just needed something to distract me from the thoughts swirling in my head.
Loud banging on my door had me cracking an eye open. I guess I’d dozed off there for a minute. The game was in the ninth inning. I grabbed the remote and clicked it off. Standing took effort and I almost cracked a grin at calling myself Fat Boy in my head before I remembered Rae wasn’t speaking to me.
“What?” I called loudly, thinking Heath has returned to apologize for being a jerk. Of course I’d forgive him, but I’d make him eat crow a bit first. “Back to—”
I swung open the door and halted when I saw Ryder highlighted by the porch light.
I frowned. “What are you doing here?”
He smirked. “Well, that’s a lovely greeting. Mind if I come in, Sunshine?”
I huffed out a breath, turned, and walked back to my couch. At least my couch was nice to me. Ryder followed, closing my front door quietly and having a seat on my recliner. It was like groundhog’s day around here. I picked up my beer, but it was empty.
“Listen, man, you gotta pull yourself together,” Ryder started.
