Page 124 of Pretty Broken Wings
The clinking stops.
Oh my god. I feel sick to my stomach. Why the hell did I go so aggressively? First thing in the morning, and I couldn’t even let her wake up.
I almost offer to pay her.
I’m opening my mouth when she says, “Uh… shouldn’t I be asking?”
I freeze. “What?”
“I mean, I’ll be driving. So technically,I’dbe the one takingyouon a date.” The bowl scrapes across the counter.
Oh my god. She’s not turning me down. She’s making a joke. Relief hits me so hard that I think I’m going to pass out.
Then, there’s a laugh from the hall, and I stiffen. It’s Axel.
“Shut up, Axel.” Suddenly, Raven is there in front of me, patting my arm. “Of course, I’ll take you on a date. Where to, princess?”
“Tom’s Steakhouse.” My brain hasn’t caught up with my mouth because it’s taking me a whole two extra seconds to realize that she said yes. She said yes.
I catch a snicker, and then Raven brushes past me, and I sense her leaving the kitchen. There’s a muffled ‘ow’ from my brother, and then her footsteps disappear down the hall.
Yes. She said yes.
Elation pulses through me like helium, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to lift off the ground. I don’t think I’ll ever come down.
It takes me some time to realize that Axel hasn’t moved. He’s still standing there, and then, with a flicker of movement, he’s gone.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
I never thought sadness and pride and jealousy could mix together until right fucking now.
Gage is happy. I can hear it in his voice. And not just the happiness he gets from winning an argument. This seems real. Peaceful. Like he's in love.
Awww. It’s so cute I could puke.
I stalk back to my bedroom, shutting the door. I never thought I could feel such blinding jealousy.
Gage has always had everything I want.
Suddenly, my chest is tight, and it feels like my heart is going to beat out of it. Pain lances through me, making me catch my breath as I bend over.
I’ll never know what it’s like to feel love like that.
It’s hard to catch a breath.
I’ll never know love like that because I’m literally unable to put down the act. I winked at Raven in the hallway—winked—and I’m not even sure why I did it. Maybe I didn’t want her to see the pain on my face as she passed.
I’ve gotta get out of here. It’s too painful to keep watching these two have something that I want.
I spin around, thinking about grabbing my things, but everything here is Gage’s.
Right. ‘Cause I didn’t belong here in the first place. I forced my way in like I do with everything in my life.
This is what I get. I deserve this.
Even as I nod to myself, the pain in my chest remains.
I’ll go. Disappear. Start my life over where no one knows me as ‘the player,’ and maybe down the road, I can change. Find some inkling of the same thing that Gage and Raven have.
