Page 104 of Stolen Summer
Holy shit.
No. It can’t be.
I swallowed over the lump of betrayal and hurt lodged in my throat.
It couldn’t be true.
I didn’t want it to be true.
Had I fallen for the guy responsible for injuring my father, for changing my life?
My skepticism remained, blocking off the pain trying to resurface. Pressing a hand to the building, I twisted to glare at Gianna. “Why would either of them tell me the truth? They’d lied this long to keep their secret.”
She frowned, and unless I was mistaken, I swore I saw a flash of sadness flutter through her features. “I hate to admit this. I’ve known Cole and Crew most of my life, and I’ve never seen Crew care about anyone other than Cole, but there’s something about you. They never fight over anything, but when you left, hell broke loose. You caused a rift between them. Do you think it was over nothing? Believe me or don’t. My conscious is cleaned.”
“We both know you didn’t tell me to so you could feel better about yourself.” It was more about hurting me, driving the knife deeper into my heart.
She succeeded.
The impulse to leave work and barge into the Rileys’ house overwhelmed me. Countless patrons waited too long for drink refills. I mixed up orders left and right. Ann took pity on me, clearly noticing I was off my game, and sent me home two hours before my scheduled shift ended.
If I had been a new employee, she probably would have told me to take my tips and fired me on the spot.
I could have called him. I could have texted. But this was a conversation I wanted to have in person. I wanted to see his face when I asked him about Gianna’s outlandish accusation. If he lied, I wanted him to do it to my face. Then again, it could be Gianna stirring up trouble.
How would I know?
Who did I trust?
It was tempting to let myself inside as I had done so many times before, but I opted to spam the doorbell a dozen times until it opened, and I stared at Crew. Shit, maybe it was Cole. I couldn’t tell through my rage.
Then I remembered the lip ring, and my gaze darted to his lips.
Crew.
I loathed the way my heart jerked in my chest.
It hurt to see his fucking handsome face, to remember the moments we had together, even the times he was an ass. I understood him more then than I did now.
“We need to talk.” I stayed on the porch not wanting to cross the threshold. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have on his turf. It needed to be somewhere neutral—somewhere I felt confident.
Crew had a hand on the door as his eyes drank me in, and if my insides weren’t churning in agony, I would have spent longer staring at him with the same appreciation he gave me.
It was difficult to separate my feelings. Part of me ached to be pulled into his embrace. The other part, the one afraid Gianna’s words were true, wanted to lash out at him, inflict years of pain parallel to what I’d endured. It wasn’t just the suffering but the loneliness too. My father not only lost the use of his legs that night but so much more. He lost a piece of himself, and it had never fully returned.
“Sounds serious.” He opened the door further, a silent invitation inside.
My blood pounded in my ears as I shook my head. “Is Cole here?” I asked, contemplating if it were best I confronted them both.
“No. It’s just me,” he said gruffly as if he was annoyed I’d want to see his brother.
“Can we go to the beach?” I suggested.
Crew arched a single brow. “Are you afraid to be alone with me?”
“Perhaps, but not for the reasons you think.” And it wasn’t Crew I wholly mistrusted. I equally feared myself, specifically my body and what it wanted, even now with the possibility Crew could be responsible for the biggest tragedy in my life.
His features darkened, but he slipped on a pair of slides before walking out and closing the door behind him. I didn’t say a word until we were feet from the water, the lapping of waves licking the sandy shore. “Are you the one who hit my car?” I blurted, staring up at him expectantly, beseeching him for once in his life to tell the truth.