Page 76 of Shameless With Him
“Let’s talk about this.”
“No, you don’t get to do this. This is my sister’s wedding. And you’re ruining this for her.”
You’re ruining everything for me.
He took a step forward, and I slammed my bouquet into him, one hit after another, slam after slam, flowers and petals falling to the ground.
My hours of work were nothing as I looked down at what was my hope, my dreams, the way that I took care of myself, and it was nothing.
“She’s just a friend. It’s not what you think. I didn’t want the two of us, you and me, to make a mistake, you know?”
I could hear the lies in his tone, and I didn’t really care. I didn’t know what the truth was anymore. I looked at him then, the tears falling freely down my face. I hated the fact that he’d made me cry.
“You know, you were allowed to break it off. You were allowed to call it casual. But you were never allowed to be mean. That’s not you, Caleb. You were never mean.”
He looked at me then and didn’t say anything. Instead, he rubbed his temple and looked like he was hurting. I wanted to feel like it was okay that he was hurting. Because I was hurting.
“Zoey, it’s not like that.”
“I don’t know what it is. Because I cannot believe you did that. And what hurts the worst? I think I hate you. I hate you so much right now.” I let out a rough chuckle, but he didn’t say anything. “You know what’s even worse than that? I hate the way you make me feel. The fact that I love you, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
And as I bared myself to him, my heart shattered into a million pieces all around us, and I walked away towards the rest of the wedding party.
I would take the rest of the photos, even if I didn’t have a bouquet, I would be the best sister I could be, and then I’d lay in shattered remains and wonder what the hell I had been thinking.
Because having a crush on Caleb Carr was one thing. Knowing that love could be unrequited was another.
Having that love thrown in my face in the worst way possible?
That wasn’t something I’d ever prepared myself for.