Page 103 of Don't Let Me Fall (Don't Let Me 1)

“You do?” she asks.

“Yeah. This has gone too far.”

“Agreed.” She shakes her head, glances at the now-empty stage, and turns back to us. “I can’t lie to my family. It’s the one thing I can’t do. I didn’t think Theo would blurt something out like that. But my aunt and uncle are the greatest. I can’t lie to them.”

“No one’s asking you to,” Colt returns. “You should tell them about Shorty too.”

Wringing her hands in front of her, she mutters, “I don’t want them to worry.”

“I’m sure you don’t, but they have a right to know,” he continues. “And no matter how much you might think we have it under control, Shorty’s doing some shady shit, and you deserve better.”

“I know.” A straw wrapper lies on the table, and she reaches for it. Rolling it between her fingers, she forms a little paper ball, lost in her thoughts and indecision.

“What can I do to help?” I ask.

“Wanna go back in time and keep me from dating Shorty in the first place?” she offers, her smile bleak at best.

She and Shorty have been dating off and on since freshman year when Logan introduced them. It was not long after her dad died, and she was hurting. She wanted someone to swoop in and care for her. Little did she know, she’d attracted one of the most controlling assholes on the planet. And every time she works up the guts to leave him, he reels her right back in. Once, she told me it was easier to be with him than deal with how awful he was when they weren’t together.

It broke my heart.

Honestly, I think it’s part of the reason I stayed so long with Logan. Because our relationship looked like rainbows and butterflies compared to Mia’s. Little did I know how toxic relationships can be. Especially when you’re together for the wrong reasons.

With a frown, I pat Mia’s hands on the table. The paper straw she’d been messing with rolls toward me. “Unfortunately, I didn’t know what you were getting into with Shorty, either, but if I could go back in time, I would.”

“You and me both,” Mia mutters. “But enough sad talk. It’s making me depressed.” She slips out of the booth and grabs a glass of water from the table. “Sorry about this.” With a quick flick of her wrist, she splashes it in Colt’s face and yells, “We’re over!”

She stomps away, leaving me alone with Colt.

“I guess that’s one way to end a relationship,” I mutter, barely holding in my laugh as the water drips down his face and off his chin. The bartender, Sammie, walks over with a towel.

“Damn, Colt. You okay?” she asks.

He takes the towel, wipes off his face, and hands it back to her. “Yeah. I’m good. Thanks.”

With a grimace, she prods, “I guess that means you and Mia are through?”

Colt looks toward the exit and back at Sammie. “Guess it does.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Sammie.” He squeezes my thigh beneath the table, and warmth spreads through my chest as Sammie takes the damp towel, excuses herself, and walks away to help another customer.

“I guess that’s that,” I announce, surprised by how easily something as daunting and crippling as their fake relationship was simply…canceled.

Lifting his glass, Colt clinks it against the neck of my beer and says, “To new things.”

I smile and raise my bottle, almost giddy. “To new things.”

And we both drink.

45

COLT

The house is dark as I step inside and lock the door behind me. Giggles echo from the first floor, probably belonging to one of Theo’s or Logan’s one-night stands, but I’m too exhausted to investigate.

I really need to order a pair of noise-canceling headphones.

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