Page 52 of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

I flinched back, as if physically struck. I wanted to argue but he was right. “My dad never told me,” I said, as if that was any kind of defense.

“Because it was none of your business and it still isn’t.”

He didn’t wait for me to respond, didn’t give me a chance to defend myself or fight back. He just turned on his heel and snatched his jacket. I watched him walk out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

The silence he left behind was deafening. His anger still vibrated in the walls, in the floor, in my very bones. I realized I’d been holding my breath. I forced myself to exhale, shaky and uneven.

I heard the sound of his bike starting up. I thought about going out and trying to stop him, but I had a feeling that would be futile.

A second later, the sound of tires squealing on the pavement echoed through the house. Kannon was gone. I hoped he was smart enough not to do something stupid and get himself hurt. Or killed. I didn’t think I would ever be able to live with myself.

I wandered over to the window and peered out. He was long gone.

Tears blurred my vision. I let them fall, staining my cheeks like rain on a windowpane. They streaked down my face without permission, each one tearing at my heart. I let them come, mourning the loss of a friendship I had foolishly thought could be healed.

When my phone started ringing, the sound startled me. For some stupid reason I thought it might be Kannon. I didn’t know why he would be calling me unless he decided he wanted to talk. I rushed back to the kitchen and grabbed it.

The name on the screen was a lifeline. Lucia. I was a little disappointed it wasn’t Kannon, but I couldn’t say that it was a surprise.

“Hello?” My voice cracked as I answered.

“Merritt?” Her tone was concerned immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Girl, I can hear the tears in your voice,” she said. “Is this grief? Are you upset about your father?”

“No. Him.”

“Him, who?”

“Kannon,” I said.

“Kannon made you cry?” she asked. “Where is he? I’ll run his bike over with a dump truck.”

“He was so mean,” I choked out, my voice wobbling as the tears spilled over. “So angry. I don’t—I don’t know what I did wrong. I mean I do, but still. It wasn’t that bad.”

“What happened?” Lucia’s voice was calm but firm, the way she always got when she was in fix-it mode. She wanted the facts. If she decided Kannon was in the wrong, I had no doubt in my mind she would show up with that dump truck.

I sniffed, wiping at my face even though the tears kept coming. “God, it’s so stupid. I went to see Kannon’s friend this morning. I asked him about Kannon. I could tell something had changed about him. I was curious about what that was.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Okay, start from the beginning. Why did you go to this other person? Why not ask Kannon directly? I’m just going to be blunt, that feels a little middle-school like.”

I hesitated. “Because after last night, I didn’t know what to do.”

“What happened last night?”

“Kannon and I… we slept together.”

There was a beat of silence. “What? Merritt, you’ve been back in town for, like, five minutes!”

“I know,” I groaned, covering my face with my hand.

“I’m impressed,” she said.

“I didn’t plan for it to happen. It just did.”

“And now you’re freaking out?”