Page 61 of The Flight Risk

I desperately want her to say those three words back to me. But she doesn’t. She says three different words.

“It is true.”

What’s worse than being friendzoned? Having the best girl as your girlfriend and then getting friendzoned. Now that I know what it’s like to have her, I never want to let that go. But, I can’t force Tess to stay. No matter how much I want her to.

She looks at her watch. “I need to go get Lottie.”

“Right.” I cross my arms against my chest and take in all that is Tess because other than at Tristan and Brooke’s wedding, I don’t know when I will see her again. And that fucking kills me.

“Goodbye, Oakley.” And just how Tess bulldozed into my life without a single warning, she’s out just as fast, leaving a hole so deep in my chest, I have no idea how I’m going to heal it.

34

Ihate how quiet my house is now. I was getting so used to the constant noise and presence of other people that now, my home doesn’t feel like my home anymore. My house has become a direct representation of how I feel–fucking empty.

I’m packing some snacks in my duffle for the game tonight–a game I am not mentally ready for–when my door suddenly bangs open. I jump up and grab my trusty security baseball bat I keep by the door. I’m in a full swing stance when I see Lottie peek her head around the door. My shoulders relax. “Holy shit, Lottie. What are you doing here? How the hell did you get a key to my house?”

“Calm down, Babe Ruth. I never gave my copy back. Didn’t get a chance to.” She places it on my entryway table. My muscles relax. “Were you really going to take a swing at me?”

I lower the bat and prop it up against the wall. “No. I would never.”

She closes the door and stands with her arms crossed.

“Hey, why aren’t you at school?” I ask her.

“I had a free period and decided to skip band practice.” She looks me up and down and cringes. “You look like shit.”

It’s true. I haven’t trimmed my beard or bothered to change out of my favorite gray sweatpants and Storm t-shirt, the same outfit I’ve worn since they moved out. I know our social media team loves to take pictures of all the players arriving at the arena, but I don’t give a shit. The comment stings nonetheless. “Geez, way to make a guy feel great when he’s down. Does Tess know you’re here?”

“I call it as I see it.” She plops her backpack down on my wooden floor and takes a seat on her preferred bar stool. “And no, she doesn’t.”

“You didn’t answer my first question. What are you doing here, Lottie? I mean, other than commenting brutally on my appearance.” I zip up my bag.

“I came to ask you why you fucked it all up with my Aunt Tess?”

I huff out in disbelief and shake my head. “I wasn’t the one who packed my bags and left without so much as a real goodbye.”

“I’m not saying that I’m not super pissed at my aunt right now. That was messed up for her to do.” She shrugs. “It was messed up what she did to me, too. Trust me, I’ve had a few days to process everything and I’m going to talk to her soon about her making this decision without me and without talking to you about it first. I also didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to you and to thank you for everything.”

Lottie knows how to pull at my heartstrings. I’m a softie for these Lewis women and there’s no remedy for that. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“Then why did you fuck it all up?”

“Why do you keep saying that? I wanted you both to move in permanently! She left me, Charlotte.”

“Don’t Charlotte me, Adam. I didn’t realize you asked her to move in…”

“I didn’t get a chance to.”

“Adam! What the hell? That could have changed everything! You didn’t fight for her to stay. You just let her go.”

I bang my fist against the table. “It’s not that simple. She wouldn’t have said yes. Her mind was clearly made up.”

“Stop treating me like I’m a kid! Go be the white knight and take her from that stupid tower she banished herself to.”

I scoff and shake my head. “That’s such a kid thing to say.”

“Excuse me for believing in the magic of fairytales. It’s something that’s foreign to me in real life but what you and my aunt have, Adam, is lightning in a bottle. It’s a fricken fairytale. Do the grand gesture and get her back.” Her bottom lip quivers and even though she claims that she is not a kid, I catch a glimpse of what she looked like as a little girl–settling for disappointment yet wishing for the alternative. She deserves contentment and joy. I didn’t think I could break any more, but I stand corrected when she says, “Please.”