Page 45 of Accidentally Forever
“I’m not going to touch that. But tread lightly, Crew.”
I snarled, ready to go find Travis and kick his ass once again. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then you should be fine.” And with that, he shook his head, leaving me alone as I walked down the hall to the main office.
Riley, the Montgomery who ran the gallery, had another office down the corridor, but this was the main one that people used when they needed to get paperwork done when not at their studio.
Aria stood at one of the message boards, chin lowered as she stared at her hands. I closed the door behind me, finally letting out a sigh. She turned toward me, her eyes dark. “Did you really have to hit him?”
Staggered, I took step back. “You’re really worried about him?” Of all the things she could have said, Inever thought it would be this. That I’d done it wrong. That I’d failed her. Again.
Then she surprised me.
“I don’t care about him. Which makes me feel like a horrible person because he was one of my best friends. But no, that man out there isn’t the Travis I knew. And I’ve spent five years trying to be there for him. And he’s consistently hurt me and pushed me away. So I had done my best to cut him off. He can come to us,to me, when he needs help. But I’m not going to be his punching bag. But, Crew? You don’t have to continue to use your fists to solve my problems. You think I’m that weak?”
I threw my hands into the air. “I don’t think you’re weak. But you’re allowed to let people help you.”
“Then show him out the door. I don’t care what he says about me. Yes, it’s cruel. It’s embarrassing. It’s probably all over the internet since people were recording. But he doesn’t matter.Youdo.”
“Aria—”
“You matter, you dumbass.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. But you matter, Crew. More than anyone I let myself get close to. But Travis? He’ll press charges. And once again, you’re going to end up behind bars because the person that I trusted is breaking both of us. You keep getting hurt because of me. Look at your hand.And it’s the hand that you use to paint. It’s already swelling, Crew, and you’re not putting ice on it. Meaning you’re not taking care of yourself. You are too busy worrying about me, but you never think about yourself.”
Her chest heaved as she spoke, but I saw the worry there. I didn’t know what to do with it. Others didn’t have to worry about me. I was the one who was there for them. It’s what I’d been good at since it wasn’t like I’d grown up learning how any other way.
“I’m fine, Aria.”
If possible, her eyes went molten. “You’re not. You keep preparing yourself to stand in front of a bullet for me, but you won’t even let me pull you out of the way.”
The thought of Aria in front of a bullet nearly made me pass out, bile coating my tongue. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Let me get you some damn ice.” She stepped toward the mini fridge, then pulled out a tiny ice packet.
“How did you know that was in there?” I asked.
“Because Riley uses it for migraines sometimes so I’m going to borrow it and use it for your knuckles. I just don’t want you to be hurt. Especially for me. Not again.”
“You know I would do anything for you.” My heartrate was finally starting to slow down, but I was still confused at why she seemedso damn angry atme.
She met my gaze, her eyes steady. “Maybe stop hitting him for me. Maybe think about yourself.”
“I wasn’t going to let him just walk out of there after saying those things to you.”
Finally she looked away, her shoulders sagging. “Crew. What am I going to do with you?”
“He’s lucky I didn’t kill him. After the day I’ve had, he’s damn lucky.”
“What happened today?” she asked, her gaze pleading when she looked back up at me.
“Just stuff,” I lied.
“And there it is again. You keep everything to yourself because you’re afraid it’ll be too much for me. But it’s not. Travis wasn’t the be –all, end-all of my life. I can be there for my family, my friends. And I sure as hell can be there for you. What happened today, Crew?”
I frowned, realizing Ididn’ttell her things. I kept them to myself because that’s what I always did. It’s where my issues belonged. It’s what my parents had taught me, even though the Montgomerys and their boisterous nature might be different, it didn’t change who I was.
“I’m not good at this,” I whispered.
She traced her finger along my jaw, and I shivered. “Just one thing. Tell me one thing, Crew.”
