Page 48 of Her Second Chance

He looks up, meeting my gaze before leaning closer to the girl and whispering in her ear. Her eyes shoot to mine, and she frowns before nodding slowly.

I stand rooted in place as Brock makes his way toward me. He doesn’t look happy to see me.

“Hannah?” His voice is soft, but I hear him clearly over the thundering bass of the music blaring.

I swallow hard. “Hey.”

“Can we have some privacy?”

I nod, allowing him to take my arm and steer me through the crowd out onto the balcony.

The crisp night air hits my face when he flings open the doors, reminding me I’m not dressed for the cool fall weather. He sees me shiver and frowns before removing his hoodie and handing it to me.

I take it and pull it over my head, savoring his smell as it washes over me. My panties are toast when he grins. I don’t know why I’ve fought this so hard. Brock owns my heart.

“I like you in my clothes.” His eyes twinkle as he looks me up and down.

I bite my lower lip to keep from doing something stupid like blurting out that I love him.

“I don’t know what to do Hannah. You’ve got to help me here. Everyone says it’s time to let you go, but I’m not ready.” The raw pain in his voice makes my stomach tighten.

“I want to be with you.” A tear snakes down my cheek.

He swipes it away with his thumb as he cups my face, his eyes trained on mine. “Then do it. Be with me. Live a happy life with me.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“I’m fighting for you, for us, but I can’t do it alone. I need you to fight too.” His tone is pleading, making my head throb.

I hate how I’m hurting him, but I don’t know how to fix things. “I can’t. I’m not supposed to be with you.”

“I’m the only place you’re supposed to be.”

His words feel so true, but something keeps holding me back.

Hunter steps out onto the porch with the girl Brock was talking to earlier. “Oh, good, you’re still here. I need to talk to you before I leave for the night.”

Brock steps away, leaving me with the girl. She steps close to me and places a hand on my cheek. “Such a shame.”

I jerk back, stepping away from her touch. “Excuse me.”

She stares at me for a minute then steps away, dropping her hand and shaking her head before going back inside.

What the fuck? Is it me, or is everyone acting weird?

I step closer to the edge of the balcony and place my arms on the rough stone. I look up to the sky. “What am I supposed to do? What do you want from me?” I yell.

A few people on the ground below look up at me and laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh at the person trying to figure out life,” I mutter.

I stand there until my bare legs go numb from the cold, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess. With no idea of how to fix things, I turn back to the party to drink my troubles away. I want to go home, but I don’t want to lose Grace. And I damn sure don’t want to lose Brock.

What am I supposed to do?

Chapter 25

Hannah

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