Page 83 of Wild Hearts

Wren’s head drops into her hands and her shoulders shake as she cries.

“I’ll kill him,” I growl, climbing to my feet, but she reaches out and grabs my arm, holding me in place.

“It wasn’t him,” she manages to get out, her watery eyes finally meeting mine. Another sob rips from her chest and she drops her hand, wrapping it around her stomach.

I kneel in front of her, wiping her tears with my thumb. She leans into my touch and it takes everything inside of me not to claim her lips with mine.

All the muscles in my stomach are clenched painfully and I have to remind myself to breathe. “I know we’re not...” I shake my head and try again. “I know you just want to be friends, and as your friend–” I struggle to choke out the word. “It’s killing me inside to see you like this. Please, Rookie, tell me what happened.”

She takes a deep, shuddering breath, trying to regain control. “I’m scared,” she whispers. “I’m scared if I tell you, you’ll never look at me the same way again.”

I stare at her dumbfounded. I pick up her hand and press it to my chest. “You feel that?” I ask. “Nothing could ever change the way I feel about you, Rookie.Nothing.”

Wren’s breathing hitches but she nods. “Okay, but you have to promise me two things.”

“Anything.”

She stares at our hands entwined against my chest. “First, you have to promise you’ll let me talk. No interruptions. This is really hard for me to tell you, so I need you to let me get it all out before you say anything.”

“O-kay,” I say, drawing out the word. My heart threatens to hammer out of my ribcage. What could be so hard to tell me? “What’s the second promise?”

Wren’s blue eyes lock on to mine and my blood runs cold as she says, “You have to promise me that you won’t seek out your own justice.”

I rub the back of my neck with my free hand, the other still encased around hers. “Rookie–”What the hell happened to her?

She shakes her head and pulls her hand away, leaving me feeling empty. “Those are my conditions. I need you to promise me both of those things.”

Fuck.

I stare at her for ages, taking in the steely determination in her gaze. Slowly, I nod my head, but she shakes hers.

“I need to hear you say it, Brady.”

My name on her lips sends shivers down my body. “I promise,” I say through gritted teeth.

“I mean it. I can’t have you getting angry and doing something... stupid.”

My muscles tense. “I promise,” I repeat.

She lets out a breath and looks away from me. “Can you sit beside me? I don’t think I can look at you while I tell you.”

My stomach drops, but without a word, I move to sit beside her, but I don’t leave any space between us. Her hand rests on the blanket between us and I twist my long fingers in between hers, letting her know I’m here for her.

I stare out at the ocean, the soft push and pull of the rising tide calming me in a way only a surfer could understand. We sit there in silence for so long that I start to wonder if Wren has lost her nerve.

I squeeze her hand and she takes a deep breath before finally opening up to me.

“I was absolutely gutted when Mum and I left Blue Haven after Ivy’s birthday.”

I open my mouth to apologise, then snap it shut again as I remember the promises I’d just made to her. As hard as this is going to be for the both of us, I need to give her that.

“I wanted to turn around as soon as we left. I wanted to come back to you. I wanted to forgive you, because I knew you were hurting. But I also knew, as hard as it was for me, you needed to work through your own stuff before we could have any chance of being together. Our relationship started out with keeping secrets from our loved ones, and it was too similar to what you were going through with your dad for us to last. I didn’t want you to resent me.”

I want to tell her that I could never resent her, but deep down I know she’s right. It’s clear from last night that I’m still not over my issues with Dad and Tarshia. If we had stayed together in secret, it would have eventually torn us apart. I squeeze her hand, encouraging her to go on.

“As hard as it was not to answer your calls or reply to your texts, I kept telling myself I just had to make it through the year. Once I was back in Blue Haven we could try again. No secrets, no lies. We could talk to Ivy together. We could make things work. If...” Her breathing hitches. “If you still wanted to be with me, that is.”

I bite my cheek. This is torture. The past twelve months have been torture. Is that really what she’s been thinking all this time? That I wouldn’t want to be with her? I groan inwardly, wanting to tell her she’s the only thing I’ve thought about since the night she left.

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