Page 37 of Found By You
I tugged away. “You left. That’s on you.”
She tightened her grip on my arm. “McCrae, please.”
“Please let go.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “But …” she trailed.
“Let go,” I said quickly.
She dropped her hand. “I’m sorry, okay? I just needed some time to think about if I wanted you and I to continue.”
I grunted. “Well, time’s up, and I’ve moved on.” As the words came out of my mouth, I knew they were actually true.
She pushed out her bottom lip.
Another thing I used to think was cute. I turned my back to her and beelined it for the kitchen. To Sky, who was already staring at me, holding a knife right above some carrots.
She froze and met my gaze.
“You okay?”
I sucked in a breath. “Yeah, fine.” But I wasn’t fine. My gut was all tight, and the place felt like it was closing in on me.
She nodded to the back porch. “You want to go get some air real quick?”
I hesitated, searching for my mother. In a way, I would be disrespecting her if I left the party she was throwing for me. I didn’t want to hurt my mom, even though I gave her grief. She was kind of the best mom ever. But I spotted my mom talking and laughing with Isla and Ella, holding a glass of punch. “Yeah, let’s get some air for a second; then we’ll come back.”
I walked out into the night air, moving past a bunch of people who all tried to stop me and say something nice to me. I tried to be polite, but I kept walking. Luckily, Sky stayed with me.
An old buddy, Clint, called out to me. “McCrae, wait, I want to say happy birthday!”
“Thanks,” I said, waving him off. “I just have to run and get something. I’ll be right back.”
I grabbed Sky’s hand, and we walked faster and faster. I moved to the path past the gardens and the trail toward the treehouse.
The night air wrapped around us like a soft blanket, cool and refreshing after the warmth of the crowded house. The garden path was lined with small solar lights that glowed softly against the darkness, creating pools of gentle light along the stone walkway.
Sky cleared her throat. “McCrae, are you okay?”
I only stopped when we got to a little area that had benches along the path to the treehouse. A tree shielded us from the house’s view, its ancient branches spreading wide above us.
“No, not really.” I pulled my hand away and paced, running a hand through my hair. I felt weird. “You can go back to the party if you want to.”
Sky hesitated, and then she moved over and quietly sat on the bench. “I … can’t do that.”
I glanced over at her, confused by her teasing tone. “What are you talking about?”
She shrugged. “Well, in my book, you found me a couple days ago, and you have been there for me when I was freaking out and struggling and going through everything. So that’s what I’m going to do for you, because you’re clearly having a freakout.”
I glared at her. “No, I’m not.”
She let out a light laugh. “Yeah, you’re freaking out, and that’s okay. I mean, Kayla told me that that was Rose, right? The Rose who left you and went to New York and all that.”
It made me uncomfortable to hear Sky talk about Rose, and even worse was the fact that Kayla had told her. In a way, it sort of felt like a betrayal, but I knew it wasn’t. I mean, the whole town knew about it. It’s not like it was a secret. How many pitying looks had I gotten over the last year and a half?
“Yeah, that was Rose.” I sighed, then met Sky’s gaze. “Did you see her kiss me?”
Sky crossed her arms and then gave a little nod. “I did.”
