Page 56 of The Heavier the Guilt…

“How about we don’t borrow trouble,” I replied, not sure if she wanted to hear the truth. “There’s no sense in getting worked up over hypotheticals.”

“Actually, I think it’s a valid question,” she argued. “We both know that there’s a very good chance that Talon will be upset about everything, so I want to know what your plan is, Lars. What are you going to do if Talon doesn’t approve?”

“What the fuck do you want me to say, Edie?” I snapped. “If I choose Talon, then you’re going to think that you were nothing but a piece of ass, no matter that you know how much he means to me. If I choose you, then I’m a worse friend than I’m already being. Not only did I sleep with my best friend’s little sister, but then I’m going to keep fucking her, no matter how he feels about it?” I stepped back, swearing. “I can’t fucking win here. No matter who I choose, I’m the asshole in this scenario.”

“You never should have kissed me, Lars,” she stated quietly.

“Yeah, maybe not,” I agreed, regret washing over me as soon as the words were out of my mouth. “No, hey…I didn’t mean that-”

“No, it’s fine,” she lied.

“No, it’s not,” I insisted. “It’s not fine, and it’s not the truth. I don’t regret kissing you, Edie. I don’t regret anything with you.”

The first warning bell for class rang, and it was perfect timing for this fucked-up situation. I also knew that I was going to have to ditch school tomorrow to go talk with Talon. This couldn’t wait until the weekend, and I was just so damn tired of hurting Edie’s feelings.

Fuck, this sucked.

~

Edie~

While I had no intentions of pissing off Lars and telling Talon about us before he had the chance to, I still missed my brother and wanted to talk to him. Ever since I could remember, Talon had always found my feelings valid, even when I’d been acting like a ridiculous drama queen.

As Lars took his anger and frustration out on the football field, I pulled out my phone to call my brother. I also realized the hypocrisy in that simple act. I kept telling Lars that I was a grown adult and could make my own decisions, but then, here I was, calling my brother because I needed him.

I was stupid.

My heart leapt with gratitude when Talon answered on the third ring. “Hey, you.”

“Hey, back,” I greeted, doing my best not to turn into a sobbing mess.

“Is everything okay?”

Guilt had me immediately on the defensive. “Yeah,” I lied. “Why would you ask?”

Talon chuckled over the phone. “Because most people under the age of fifty text if it’s just business as usual, Edie.”

“But if I text, then I can’t hear the arrogance in your voice, and why deprive you of that?” I joked.

“You got me there,” he teased back.

“How’s Kenzlee?” I asked.

“She’s good,” he answered. “I’m still trying to get her to marry me, but the girl’s stubborn.”

“It’s not stubbornness to want to make an informed life decision, Talon,” I lectured. “Just be grateful that she loves you enough to put up with your crazy ways.”

“Oh, I am,” he assured me. “I’m super grateful.”

“Well, hopefully, once she’s wed and pregnant, your crazy will simmer down a bit.”

“Doubtful,” he replied easily. “Speaking of crazy, how are things between you and Lars? Is he still driving you to want to murder him?”

Sidestepping his questions, I said, “I’ve never seen him act this way before, Tal. He’s…he’s like this fire-breathing dragon that appears magically whenever some guy is talking to me.” The jerk laughed. “Earlier, Timothy Freeman was talking to me about a class project, and Lars ran him off like he’d been trying to dry hump me in public or something.”

“Do you mind,” he drawled out.

“You know what I mean,” I sighed. “It’s just…you know, I expect that kind of over-the-top alpha craziness from you or even Hunter, but not Lars. Lars has always been the easygoing one.”

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