Page 6 of Forbidden Love, Part Two

I shrugged. “I’ve got a long night ahead of me then.”

He sighed. “She wanted to break up—we did break up.”

I tried my best not to tell him this was a good thing because they were so toxic for each other. “Why?” I asked instead.

“It was just too much. With the distance between us and then everything that was happening in our own lives. She decided it was best if we just didn’t see each other anymore.” He took to digging at his fingernails and focusing intently on them. “I can’t say I disagree with her. It was becoming overbearing for me too but…” He took a breath and I wondered if it was an effort for him not to cry over his now ex-girlfriend. “She was just someone who I never wanted out of my life, you know? I never imagined a day when we wouldn’t be in each other’s lives. Well, maybe I did, but it was more than likely a nightmare.”

I rested my head on his shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Zane.”

“It was though.”

I looked up at him and saw his eyes were indeed red.

He shook his head. “I kept secrets from her and I’d never been able to open up to her about everything. Not fully at least. That was one of the biggest problems aside from the distance that was really putting a strain on our relationship from the very beginning. That’s the main reason why she thought she couldn’t trust me and why she was always so insecure and—” He sighed again. “It’s just a lot, okay?”

My mind immediately snapped back to Marshall and I thought about the fact that there were a lot of things in my life he didn’t know about yet.

Almost as if he read my mind, my brother turned to me and said, “You have to tell him, Trish. I know you didn’t want many people knowing about what happened, but he’s not just another person anymore. I didn’t say anything about it because you asked me not to, but…” I saw the haunting of a broken heart behind his eyes. “If you want this to last, it can’t be built on secrets. I think you know all of his dirty little secrets and if you don’t, it won’t take long for him to tell you. But none of his will be as bad as yours. You have to tell him now that you’re both in the very beginning stages.”

I nodded. “I will.”

Though I said the words, I wasn’t sure spilling the very depths of myself to him was the best idea.

Chapter Four

Marshall

Trisha wasn’t at home when I got back from the barn. It drove me a little bit crazy until I checked my phone and saw she left me a message saying she was with her brother and would probably be over there until late into the night.

When I woke up the next day, however, she still wasn’t home. I knew because I woke up much later than usual and the house was still unusually quiet. When I went to check on her in her room, I saw the bed was still properly made, just the way she left it and nothing else in the room seemed to be interfered with since last night when I came in here to get my clothes.

She was still over at Zane’s then.

I tried to convince myself I was happy and they were finally getting back on track with each other, but a large part of me didn’t like it. If his words were enough for her not to talk to me the entire time she’d been here, I could only imagine what a lengthier conversation would do.

But at the end of the day, he was her brother. If she wanted to stay with him instead of with me, then that was entirely her choice and I couldn’t say anything about it. No matter how much I truly wanted to.

The fact that she hadn’t returned by noon had me worried. She’d texted to say she’d be spending the day over there but that did nothing to ease my mind.

She was going to come back later and tell me she wanted to call it quits, I just knew it.

I left the majority of the work to Johnny for the day. I may not have liked the boy very much—especially after I’d seen him talking to Trisha—but he was relatively good at what he did.

I spent the day in the garage working on my truck and wondering if she truly would come back later and call it quits. She had to leave to go back to school in a couple of days as well. And she hadn’t said much to me ever since that incident with Zane. Who was I kidding by holding out hope? She was definitely telling me she’d be staying with her brother when she came back.

I tried for that knowledge not to turn my day gloomy, but it had. I didn’t realize how bright everything was now that she’d been back. Just knowing she was in the same house as me had chased the darkness away, even if she wasn’t saying more than a few words to me. But she was going to be moving back soon. And those dark days would return.

I’d be lying to myself if I said it didn’t hurt like a bitch.

But I was determined to make her departure this time much better than the last time. I wouldn’t spiral and fall into the same hole that I did the last time. The same hole I fought so hard to bring myself out of and still barely managed to escape. No, when she left, it would be better this time, I promised myself.

I came up with a plan and put it into action as soon as the sun began setting.

Tonight was going to be a clear night so it would be perfect for watching the stars, something I knew Trisha would love.

I fired up the truck and drove straight into the main part of town where there was a flower shop. I’d passed it a few times but had never come in to explore it. Never had reason to, not until now.

“What can I get for you today, sir?” A woman with a short pixie cut asked when I walked in. Her skin from shoulder to elbow was covered in different flower designs.

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