Chapter 46
Bree
f**k, f**k, f**k. My mind chanted the word like a broken record, a litany of desperation I couldn’t escape. I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t break down. Not here. Not with hirn staring at me. I couldn’t even look at him. If I did, I’d shatter into a thousand pieces right there in the hallway.
My chest tightened like a vice, every inhale jagged, unsteady. My pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out everything else around me. I just needed to keep moving. That was all. Just get to the door, get inside, slam it shut behind me. If I could hide, if I could bury myself, maybe I’d
survive this moment.
The guy who’d tried to help me with my suitcase called after me, his voice fading into nothing as panic swallowed me whole. I didn’t care. I couldn’t care. He was background noise, just another distraction from the single goal pulsing in my mind–get away. Get away from my past. Get away from him. Don’t let yourself imagine Jenna smiling at him, touching him, taking another piece of someone I loved.
Everything in my body screamed to run into Gage’s arms, to collapse against him and let him piece me back together. But I couldn’t. Not when the image of Jenna glowed like a neon sign behind my eyes. Not when every part of me whispered she was everything he should want. She was flawless. Picture–perfect. Magazine–ready. Long blonde hair, green eyes sharp enough to cut glass, a body men fell over themselves to worship. She looked like she belonged at his side.
And me? I was just me.
My hand gripped the doorknob, fingers twisting, ready to throw myself inside the safety of my
dorm room-
When a much bigger hand closed around mine.
The warmth hit me first..That unmistakable heat, the comfort that seeped straight into my bones. Love, safety, home–all of it radiated through that single touch. Gage’s grip was strong, unyielding, but it didn’t suffocate me. It wrapped me in something I had craved every second since I’d walked away,
My knees weakened instantly. I couldn’t look up. I couldn’t let myself drown in those perfect green eyes. So I fixed on the details instead–the way his hand engulfed mine, how small I felt in his hold, how natural it was. My gaze traced over the familiar scar on his thumb, that tiny
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<Chapter 46
flaw that only made him more real, more human, more perfect to me.
“Gorgeous.”
More Hrwards
God, the way he said it. My breath stuttered out of me, my whole body threatening to collapse. It shouldn’t feel this good, it shouldn’t unravel me like this. His voice was sinful, carved from desire and devotion, and it stole every ounce of strength I had left.
“You’re here,” he murmured, stepping in so close I could feel his heat curling around me. He surrounded me, caged me, anchored me in a way that made escape impossible. “You’re actually here.”
Before I could protest, before I could breathe, his other arm slid around me, his hand spreading wide across my stomach. He pulled me back, pressing me flush against his chest until I stumbled into him. His scent wrapped around me, familiar and devastating–soap, cologne, sweat, all of it so achingly Gage. He bent down, his cap brushing my vision as he buried his face into the crook of my neck.
“I’m here,” I whispered, my voice so fragile it barely existed. I trembled everywhere, every nerve ending raw.
He breathed me in, like I was oxygen and he’d been suffocating without me. His arms squeezed tighter, molding me to him.
“I got your letter,” he murmured, his nose grazing up the side of
my
throat.
My heart crashed against my ribs, each beat a frantic warning bell. He knew. He’d read every word of my cowardice, my love tangled up in fear.
“If you need time, if you need space…” His lips ghosted over my ear, feather–light, wrecking
- me. “Then by all means, take your time. But you’re mine, Bree. You’ll always be mine. And I’ll wait for you, no matter if you want me to or not.”
The words sliced me open, my heart soaring and breaking in the same breath. His devotion was everything I wanted. Everything I craved. But reality was cruel, and it pressed in on me even as I longed to melt into him.
“But…” The word broke out of me, jagged, weak. My head turned instinctively, my eyes snapping to the figure further down the hall. Jenna. Pale, stricken, frozen in place as she watched us. My stomach lurched, nausea flooding me. “But what about her?”
“Who, gorgeous?” Gage asked, his voice rough as his arms wrapped tighter around me, as if he could shield me from my own thoughts.
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“Jenna,” I breathed, my pulse clawing at my throat. My voice shook. I was falling apart right
there in his embrace.
I felt the subtle shift in him, the stiffening of muscle, the tiny pause like he hadn’t expected the name. His body went still, surprise crackling through him.
“You know Jenna?” he rasped, disbelief in his tone.
”
A laugh almost escaped me, bitter and sharp, because calling what I had with Jenna‘ knowing” her was a joke. I didn’t know her. I knew the damage she caused. I knew the scars she left. That was it. My gaze flicked back to her, and I saw it plain as day–she was seconds from fainting. Her face ghost–white, her lips trembling. She couldn’t even mask her shock.
“You could say that,” I whispered, forcing my voice to stay neutral, though inside I was
screaming.
“She’s my sister,” he said finally, his nose brushing through my hair like he hadn’t just detonated my entire world. “Don’t worry, gorgeous. You’re the only one for me.”
No.
No, no, no.
The panic hit me like a tidal wave, crashing through every defense I had left. My eyes. widened, my lungs clamped down, and it was all I could do not to scream. The similarities slapped me in the face–the hair, the eyes, the way they carried themselves. How had I been so blind? How had I not seen it?
Fate was cruel. Too cruel.
The boy I loved more than life itself. The boy who owned every heartbeat, every breath, every broken piece of me–was related to her. Jenna. The girl who had tormented me, destroyed me, ruined me.
How could life twist the knife like this? How could it strip away every shred of hope I had left?
This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. It couldn’t be happening.
“Let go of me,” I whispered, my voice shredded, hollow. My chest caved in, the world crumbling beneath my feet. Darkness rimmed my vision, tears stinging as everything spun out of control.
“What?” Gage asked softly, confusion lacing his tone, his body pausing mid–embrace.
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“Let go of me,” I repeated, my voice higher now, sharp around the edges. It was the only weapon I had left–my words, my tone–because if he held me any tighter, I’d break. “Get off
of me!” I screamed when he didn’t move.
The sound tore through the hallway, bouncing off the brick walls, making him stumble back. Shock flashed in his green eyes, so unguarded that I almost crumbled from the sight of it. He stepped back, his hands lifting instinctively like he’d been burned, his expression raw,
confused.
I shoved through the door to my dorm, dragging my suitcase with me, fury and grief tangling so violently I could barely breathe.
When I turned, he was still there, just inches from me, the door half–shut between us. His face was all heartbreak and disbelief, brows furrowed as his hands reached out toward me, like he could still pull me back.
“Bree?” he asked, his voice breaking over my name. That single word carried every ounce of his confusion, his need, his desperate plea for me to not do this.
My throat burned, the sting at the bridge of my nose almost unbearable. “Leave me alone, Gage,” I whispered, though my voice betrayed me, shaking as much as my hands. Then louder, firmer: “We will never work.”
I slammed the door shut, the click of the lock a knife through my chest.
I pressed my back against it, clenching my eyes shut, trying to steady the wild rhythm of my heart. But I couldn’t stop seeing his face, that look of shock, of pain. Couldn’t stop hearing his voice in my ears, soft and pleading, calling me gorgeous like it was the only truth he
knew.
He knew where I was now. He knew where I lived. There was no escaping him completely. He’d be here–in the halls, in the dining room, in the library. His name would be on people’s lips. His presence would shadow every inch of this place.
But it was only for a year. One year. That was what I told myself, clinging to the mantra like a life raft. I could survive a year avoiding him, avoiding his smile, his touch, his everything. And then I could move forward. Then I could focus. Then I could breathe.
Because I couldn’t be with him. Not when Jenna was his sister. Not when everything about him came tethered to the girl who had ruined me. I couldn’t give Jenna that kind of power over my life. I couldn’t hand her another weapon to use against me.
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I tried to inhale, slow and steady, but it caught in my throat. The memory of Gage’s face kept flashing through my mind–his wide eyes, the hurt carved deep in them. The image shredded me, guilt clawing me open.
“That was quite the entrance,” a voice cut through the silence behind me.
I whipped around, startled. My suitcase thumped to the floor as I finally noticed the common room. Two couches, a chair, and three strangers–each one watching me with varying
degrees of curiosity.
Embarrassment flooded me. My skin burned hot. I must’ve looked insane, bursting in here like a storm, dragging my luggage, screaming in the hallway. “I’m–I’m sorry,” I stuttered, fumbling for words. “I promise I’m not a drama queen or anything.”
“Don’t worry about it,” one of the girls said, standing. She gave me a smile that was softer than I deserved and reached across the coffee table to offer her hand. “I’m Riley.”
She was tall and lean, her frame lined with muscle. Blonde hair cut right above her shoulders peeked out from beneath a cap with the school logo stitched on the front. She wore a basketball jersey like it was second skin, and though her face was bare of makeup, the glinting golden ring in her nose made her beauty stand out even more.
“Bree,” I said quietly, shaking her hand. My grip was probably too tight, the only thing grounding me. “I’m guessing I’m the last one here.”
“You are,” another girl chimed in. She was stunning–olive skin glowing under the light, glossy brunette hair falling in perfect waves, her clothes screaming designer. Slim, elegant,
untouchable. “I’m Savannah. But you can call me Sav.”
“I’m calling her Savvy,” Riley teased, already back in her chair, one foot kicked up onto the
coffee table.
Savannah rolled her eyes but smiled anyway, the corners of her lips betraying her. “We’re sharing a room,” she said to me. “I hope you don’t snore.”
Her words tugged me straight back to hut number seven. The guys, their teasing, their easy laughter. The pang of loss hit hard–knowing I’d never sit on those bunks again, never hear their stupid jokes, never hear Gage’s low chuckle in the middle of the night. I swallowed hard, forcing the ache down.
“I don’t think I do,” I managed, my voice soft.
“I’m Emily,” the last girl said brightly, perched on the couch like she owned it. Her smile
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stretched too wide, almost unnervingly cheerful, though her big brown eyes didn’t quite match the brightness. Her long black hair was braided neatly over her shoulder, making her
look polished, proper.
“Hey,” I said, giving her the tightest of smiles.
Riley leaned back, hands behind her head, eyes sparkling with mischief. “So who was the guy?” she asked, blunt as a hammer.
My chest clenched, my throat closing instantly.
“You can’t ask her that,” Emily scolded gently, glancing at Riley, though her smile never faltered. “She’s clearly upset. Prying won’t help.”
“And I can’t help her if I don’t know how to,” Riley shot back with a grin, shrugging like she didn’t see the harm. “I’ll kick his ass for you if you want.”
The laugh escaped me before I could stop it, a short, sharp snort that eased the tension for just a heartbeat. “You’re welcome to try,” I said, eyes dropping to the floor. “But I don’t think you’ll succeed.”
Savannah’s eyes widened with intrigue. She leaned forward, all curiosity now. “Okay, now I have to know. Give me the details.”
My stomach twisted. My lips parted before I could stop myself, the words tumbling out like a confession I couldn’t hold back anymore. “The guy is Gage Simmons,” I said, my voice flat but trembling.
Recognition lit up Savannah’s face instantly. Riley’s too–both of them straightening, their eyes wide.
“And we had a summer fling,” I added, my voice cracking at the edges, like even saying it aloud was enough to break me all over again.
