Page 182 of Burning Daylight
I shake my head, but his condescension is wearing thin, and I can feel the drip of anger bleeding through. “I’mnotinnocent, Tyler. I just want to make my own choices; I don’t want to be chained to a certain life because of my last name.”
He leans in to whisper in my ear. “Too bad, Jules. You’re caged just like Lance, only you’re too naive to see it.”
“No,” I say, my nostrils flaring.
He laughs, throwing up his hands. “Fine. Think whatever you want, but it is what it is. Don’t preach to me like you’re some minister of peace just because you’ve let Montgomery dick poison your vision.”
I swallow the hurtful words like sharp knives cutting through my insides. “Ty, I love him.”
He looks at me like I’ve stabbed him, betrayal shining in his gaze.
“Youlovehim?” he says. “You’re playing right into their hands, Juliette.”
My chest spasms. “You don’t understand.”
But maybe he does, and that makes nausea surge through me like a tidal wave.
“I don’t need to.” He laughs and rubs a hand over his face like he can’t believe what’s happening. “I’m smart enough to recognize that not everything is black and white. That there’s nuance in every situation. But I promise you, Juliette. If you choose Roman Montgomery, then you’re dead to me.”
“Don’t say that.” I reach out and try to grip his arm, but he rips it away, scoffing, his eyes watering like even looking at me makes him sad.
“I’m telling your brothers. They need to know. He’s playing a mind game with you, Juliette. There are no innocents in Rosebrook Falls. You’re getting involved in something you don’t even know you’re about to be in the middle of.”
“What’s that mean?”
He shakes his head. “You’re fucking everything up, that’s what it means.”
“Ty.” My voice breaks.
He ignores me, standing up and walking away.
“Tyler!” I half yell.
A few random college students are hanging outside of theSic et Nondormitory, and they turn toward me at the noise.
My chest aches, and I reach up to try and soothe the burn, but it’s no use.
I knew that choosing Roman would mean letting go of everyone else. I just hoped they’d understandwhyI was doing it.
47
ROMAN
Idon’t see Juliette for the rest of the night.
It makes my skin crawl and my nerves skitter like fire ants, because I need to talk to her; to tell her everything that’s happened. Explain why I can’t just pick up and leave even though I promised her the world.
Before I second guess myself, I’m weaving through the ballroom, and scanning every corner trying to find her.
Something doesn’t feel right.
And my dad isn’t answering his phone.
There’s a weight in the pit of my stomach, heavy and solid, like dread poured concrete in my gut.
When I come up empty inside, I slip through the side doors and make my way out of the building, into the space between the main structure and the university’s courtyard. The wind bites at my cheeks, but I barely feel it.
Where the fuck could she be?
