Page 83 of Always Mine

“Right,” he mutters, shaking his head in amusement. I’m sure he thinks I’ve lost my mind. I do too. “Come on.” He grabs my arm and tugs me to the couch to sit.

“Okay, I’m sitting down,” I announce as if he wasn’t already aware of that fact. Yeah, I’m ready to disappear. This is not how I imagined it going in the slightest. He plops down beside me, relaxing back on my couch. Meanwhile, I’m stiff as fuck, and my left leg is bouncing up and down anxiously. What do I say now? What should I do? I can’t even look at him fully. I’m too keyed up. “Wanna get some food?” I blurt out, trying to think of something that delivers. “We can order pizza! Yeah, you like pizza.”

“Wyatt.” The way he says my name has me pausing, and I look at him fully, taking in the humor on his face. He’s laughing at me.

“I just feel weird!” I exclaim, deciding that the best thing to do is to throw it all out there. “I know we need to talk, and I’m trying to prepare myself for the worst!”

He tilts his head in confusion, and I don’t blame him. I’m the worst. “Why do you feel weird? And why are you thinking the worst?”

“Yeah, you hate me,” I whisper, not wanting to talk the words into fruition.

He makes a wounded noise, reaching out and taking my hands. “I could never hate you. No matter what.”

God, I wish that were true. “You may not feel the way in a moment.”

“Wy…” He sighs, “I already know.”

My eyes widen at that. “What do you mean? How?”

If the wordduhhad a facial expression, that would be Cooper’s face right now. “We live in a small town…”

“Yeah, but you’ve been gone.” And the only family who could tell him is his grandma, and she stays in a care facility one town over.

“You do know Ember is dating my best friend, right?”

Why do I feel like I’ve been hit with betrayal? I’m going to kill my sister. And also…“Hey, I’m your best friend.” I give him a rib jab, earning a grunt. “So, you mean to tell me, my sister is gossiping about me?”

“More like she's using Hunter as her soundboard while she comes up with ways to make Paxton suffer for all his wrongdoings.” His tone is a little too sinister for the subject matter and I roll my eyes.

“Wow, I don’t know how to feel about that?” I sit back, pulling my hands from Cooper’s and folding my arms over my chest. “I’m glad that she cares, but kind of terrified too. Then let’s throw in the fact that I’m irritated with her. She knew you’d be with him while you were away.”

“Yeah, she hasn’t been quiet at all.”

I should have known, but I expected this was too big for her just to throw Cooper’s way. Guess I was wrong. “So…”

“So…” he repeats, looking at me with amusement.

I bring my hands up in prayer, still worried he’s going to freak out. “You’re really not mad?”

He folds his legs, throwing an arm over the back of the couch while he thinks. “I was worried, at first, because of everything that happened in the past. Between what I’ve heard from Ember and what Paxton told me, I don’t think he plans on hurting you.”

His posture doesn’t even change, and yet, he just gave me the biggest shock of my life.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold up…” I rub small circles on my temples, feeling like I’m gaining way more information than possible for one day. “What do you mean? You talked to Paxton? When? how? Explain!”

“How can I answer when you’re not giving me a chance to?”

“Keep the sarcasm, jerk. You’re blowing my mind right now. I can’t keep up with the whiplash!”

“There's really not much to tell.” He shrugs. “I saw him, wanted to know what his intentions were. We spent a good amount of time talking, and yeah...”

“And yeah? That’s what you're going with?”

He smirks, clearly enjoying this. “Stop worrying. I talked to him and now it’s all good.”

“So, you’re okay with this?” My tone is apprehensive because that can’t be all.

His features soften and he nudges my chin with his knuckle. “I’m fine. I know that look, and you’re feeling guilty. I know it’s because you’re worried for me. Wyatt, I’m not going to pretend I don’t have feelings for you. I think you’re a great guy and we’ve been through so much together, but at the end of the day, I know where your heart lies.” My lip wobbles and I bite down on it, trying to stop the sob wanting to escape as he continues. “You’re my friend. I accepted the fact that we wouldn’t be together a while ago, and that’s okay. You should be with him because in the last three-and-a-half years, you haven’t once lit up the way you are now. His being here makes you different...happier. It's like the light you've been missing is back and I couldn’t compete with that even if I wanted to. How could I? He's your one. He always has been."

---