Page 82 of Versions Of Us

“Henley didn’t just leave town. Something happened and he couldn’t come back,” EJ explains.

“What the hell could possibly have happened to make him have to stay away from me? After all the things he’d said to me before he left. It doesn’t make sense.” I shake my head in denial.

“Exactly. He told me he wanted all in with you. That’s why I was so pissed when he left.”

“Come on, EJ. He just ran away. He ran scared like he always does.” I want to believe that it’s as simple as this, though deep down I know Henley’s panic attacks must stem from somewhere.

We all know that Henley has had commitment issues that stem from way back to his childhood. His parent’s constant arguing and lack of affection for each other affected him more deeply than he’d ever care to admit. I’ve believed for six months that he left town because he freaked out about us. That he found someone else to move on with. That’s the story I’ve told myself this entire time, but what if it isn’t true.

Because I’m questioning it now.

I’m questioning all the things that don’t add up. All the ways that my theory doesn’t make sense.

“He didn’t, Kristen. Think about it. He isn’t even the same guy anymore.” EJ’s green eyes meet mine. “He’s jumpy all the time. It’s like he’s always watching his back.”

“You noticed it too.”

“Yeah.” EJ drops his gaze to the floor, running a hand through his messy, brown hair. He sighs as though he’s at war with himself. He wants to tell me something. He just doesn’t know if he should.

“EJ, what are you not saying?”

He flops down onto the other couch opposite me and Liv. He takes in a long breath before he begins to speak again. “I called my dad because I couldn’t believe he would offer Henley a place to live and his old job back when he’d just walked out on us all like that. I was angry.”

“And?” Liv asks.

“And he told me that I shouldn’t be so hard on him. That there were things I didn’t know about,” he answers.

“Like what?” Liv and I both say in unison.

EJ groans, throwing his head back onto the headrest of the couch. He pauses, as though he’s deciding whether to keep this secret for his best friend or reveal it to his oldest friend.

“It’s not my place to tell you,” he resigns. “If you want answers, you’re gonna have to get them from Henley himself.”

I think about all the ways in which Henley has changed.

The way he flinches at loud noises and screeching car tyres. The way he forgets how to breathe.

I need to believe that he just simply left me. It’s easier to think him a complete jerk that just decided to up and leave town with no real reason at all.

Because the alternative, that something life-changing, something unimaginable happened, is too heavy to comprehend.

Chapter 35

HENLEY

It’s just after 4pm when I pull up at the showground with EJ’s seven-piece Tama in tow. In the distance Levi and EJ pace along the mainstage, a couple of soundcheck guys swarming around them carrying cords and equipment.

We play at seven and I have to admit, I’m nervous as hell about it.

I’ve got three hours to kill so I text Mackenzie to see if she wants to hang out at the carnival for a while.

I can see that she’s received the message but in true Mackenzie style, she waits four hours to reply.

Okay, maybe not four hours.

More like ten minutes.

I can’t help but smirk when her reply finally comes through.

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