Page 61 of Twisted Redemption

So when she just dropped me last year, I felt so many conflicting emotions I thought I was going to explode. Not only did she tear me apart, but she also ripped open the still-tender wound left by my mother.

It was hell.

And now I don’t know what to feel.

Earlier, Brooke looked so... broken. She said that I was torturing her. And it forced me to take my earlier conversation with Dominic more seriously.

Now that I have, I think—no, I know—that he’s right. I’ve been so angry that I let myself hurt her so she’d feel what she made me feel. And I’ve been telling myself that it’s to keep her away, but that’s not the truth.

It’s just a bullshit excuse so I don’t have to face the fact that I’ve been hurting her on purpose.

“Daisy,” I whisper, running my hand through her soft brown hair. She passed out in bed soon after I brought her home.

I’m exhausted, but I can’t sleep. I have no idea what possessed me to come into her room, but here I am, sitting on the edge of her bed. All I could think about was how I wanted to be closer to her. Needed it.

I should probably feel like a creep. And I need to stop stroking her hair, or I’m going to wake her up. But all I really want to do is lie down next to her and keep her in my arms until morning.

Please, just stop torturing me.

Why do you keep hurting me?

It didn’t hit me until tonight that she’s probably been in pain for the past year, too. When she left me, I’d known something was off.

But now it’s all coming together.

Thank you for being the best friend I ever could’ve asked for.

Those were the last words she spoke before walking out on me. And that’s not the type of thing you say to someone you want to leave. I’d been so blinded by my own pain that I didn’t see it at the time.

And when I take that, combined with Dominic all but outright saying that David had something to do with all this, everything becomes so much clearer.

I don’t know exactly what happened, but my guess is that David made her break things off with me. To be honest, I’ve suspected it this whole time, it’s just been buried underneath my anger toward Brooke. The fucker didn’t like me from the start, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was jealous.

But still...

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I say, looking down at her.

She moans, shifting in her sleep, and I pull my hand away from her hair. God, she looks beautiful like this. And so peaceful.

“Why didn’t you choose me?” I say, more softly this time.

Obviously she doesn’t answer. I sigh before kissing her on the forehead. I need to get out of here before I do something rash like cuddle her all night.

“Blaze,” she moans. Her hand finds my thigh, brushing against my pants.

“Shh.” I place her hand on the bed, standing. “Go back to sleep, Daisy.”

She reaches out for me, but I step back. And then she’s settling back against her pillows, drifting off to sleep again.

I watch her for a moment more before leaving her room and shutting the door quietly.

I don’t know how long I pace the house for, thinking.

What if all of this hasn’t been Brooke’s fault? What if David did force her to drop her friendship with me? It still doesn’t change the fact that she didn’t fight for me.

Or maybe she did. Maybe she fought, but she lost against him.

I frown. Brooke used to tell me everything. So why the fuck would she not tell me the truth about this? Was she scared?

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