Page 31 of Faking It With the Small-Town Bad Boy

and he didn’t reciprocate, let alone even attempt to support you

through it. I’m sorry.”

Inhaling slowly, I actually feel relatively calm. “Wow.”

“Wow, what?”

“That felt good to get off my chest,” I admit. “I haven’t talked to

anyone about this whole breakup thing, let alone the wedding news,

considering I just heard about it a few hours ago. I’ve been beating

myself up about it for hours, but it feels lighter now, in a sense. Like

it’s not sitting on my throat anymore. It was just like I was looking at

a man I’d never met. We were screaming and arguing and in each

other’s faces and—”

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” he blurts.

My brows furrow. “What? No, never. Ryan wouldn’t hurt me.”

He nods, seemingly relieved, but I catch something else. Something

cold in his demeanor that I can’t help but fold my arms into my

stomach to keep the throbbing sensation in my gut to myself.

“Did Farrah ever hurt you, Percy?”

He shakes his head before I can even say something out loud. “What?

Of course not, Leah. That’s not even… never. She could never hurt

me.”

“Don’t act like that’s such a crazy thing to hear. I’ve seen women hurt

men in relationships a lot of times. I’m just asking because of your

concern about me and Ryan arguing.”

“Yeah, but that’s just how it happens. You get into a heated debate

and someone snaps. I was just making sure he didn’t do that to you.”

“There’s a difference between arguing and fighting, Percy. Ryan and I

were just arguing. Did I want to throw a wrench at him on his way

out? Of course. But it’s just thoughts, of course. It’s like when you get

on the highway outside of town and you want to brake check the car

behind you. It’s just a thought, something you don’t actually act on. I

---