Page 91 of Broken on the Mountain
"Isn't it?" He leans forward, his voice dropping dangerously low. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like you've got one foot out the door every weekend. Like you're just... visiting. Playing mountain girl until real life calls you home."
"You knew what this was when we started."
But the accusation still stings because there's truth in it. Truth I've been trying to ignore.
"Yeah, I did." His laugh is bitter, nothing like the warm sound I've grown addicted to. "Friends with benefits, right? That's what you wanted. Except somewhere between teaching you to live and opening up my world for you, I forgot to protect my own damn heart."
My throat closes up. "Chase..."
"And the really pathetic part?" He runs a hand through his hair, making it stick up in ways that shouldn't be adorable right now. "I keep thinking if I'm just good enough, patient enough,enoughenough, maybe you'll realize what we have here is worth more than whatever's waiting for you in Chicago."
"But you know I have responsibilities!" My voice catches the attention of the entire café. "My job. My family—"
"Your family who treats you like a show pony?" The anger flashes across his eyes. "Your mother who calls you to make sure you're attending galas instead of asking if you're okay?"
I freeze at that line. "Wh-when did my mother call you?"
His jaw tightens and he looks out the window, chewing the inside of his cheek.
"Friday. At the cook-off. You left your phone, and she called. I accidentally answered thinking it was mine."
I swallow hard. "What did she say?"
"Does it matter?" He pushes his plate away, eggs half-eaten. Bettyhumphsand crosses her arms over her chest behind the counter. "She made it pretty clear what she thinks of me. Of this. Of us."
Oh God."Chase—"
"She said you have plans next Saturday. Some gala." His eyes meet mine, and they're full of quiet devastation. "Tell me, Piper. Were you going to tell me? Or were you just going to text Friday morning with some excuse about work?"
The two bites of French toast now sits heavy in my stomach. "I was going to tell you—"
"When?"
"Today. Now. I just—" I reach for his hand, but he pulls back. "I didn't know how!"
"How about'Chase, I can't make it next weekend because my mother expects me to play dress-up at a charity event'?" His voice is bitter. "That would've been a start."
Tears prick my eyes. "You don't understand."
"Then explain it to me." He leans forward, desperate now. "Make me understand why you keep choosing a life that makes you miserable over one that makes you happy."
Because I'm a coward.The truth burns in my throat.Because I've spent twenty-nine years being the perfect daughter, and I don't know how to be anything else.
"I can't just—" My voice breaks. "I can't just walk away from everything. My mother has expectations. The gala is for the Whitman Foundation, it's important, I'm expected to—"
"Be perfect." He finishes, and it sounds like a curse. "I know. God, Piper, I know. But when are you going to stop living for their approval and start living for yourself?"
"I'm trying," I whisper.
He stands abruptly, tossing bills on the table. "Well, from where I'm sitting, it looks like you're just... visiting. Like Stone River is your vacation from real life, and I'm your—" He stops, swallows hard. "I'm your weekend entertainment."
"That's not true—"
He grabs his jacket and moves for the door. "Come on. You'll miss your flight."
The drive to the airport is silent, all except for the radio playing some country song about lost love that feels deliberately cruel right now. I stare out the window, watching Stone River disappear behind us, and I've never hated myself more.
I could skip the gala. Just choose him. Why aren't I choosing him right now?
