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KT: That hit you took in the third period looked like it hurt.

Me: It did, but I’m good.

Me: Do you have a minute to talk? I want your advice on something.

She didn’t respond for so long that my screen went dark. I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut briefly.

I shouldn’t have pushed my luck, but I wanted to talk to her, not through a screen but on the phone. I was tired of texting, tired of trying to decipher her tone. I didn’t want another laughing emoji; I wanted to hear her laugh.

But when my phone started vibrating, I jolted. KT’s name was displayed on the screen, and I stared at it so long I almost missed her call.

Holy shit. She’s actually calling me.

I put in my earbuds. “Hey.”

“Hey.” It was so good to hear her voice. Even if the next words out of her mouth were, “You sound tired.”

“I am.” I dragged a hand through my hair, which was still wet from my shower. I was exhausted, but instead of going to sleep, all I wanted was to talk to her.

“So, what’s up?” she asked, likely assuming I wanted to talk about the game.

I tucked my arm behind my head, trying not to groan in the process. “Are you sure you have time? I don’t want to keep you up too late. I know how busy you’ve been lately.”

“Yeah…” She hedged. A weighted pause. Concern swirled in my gut. “I, um. I’m sorry if I’ve been distant lately.”

“Everything okay?” I asked now that she’d opened the door to the topic.

She let out a heavy sigh. “I guess I’ve just been feeling guilty about our friendship.”

I was honestly surprised this hadn’t come up before now, though I guess it was different talking on the phone as opposed to sending a casual text. “We aren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Then why do I feel the need to keep it a secret from my brother?” she whispered.

“Because you’re close to him, and you’re scared how he’ll react.”

“Yeah, but it’s more than that. He’s always had my back, and I’ve always had his. It feels…wrong to befriend you when I know he doesn’t like you⁠—”

“Pretty sure everyone knows that,” I joked, though it was no laughing matter.

I didn’t have many regrets, but how things had gone down with Levi was at the top of the list. Over the years, I’d tried to reach out, to make amends, but Levi wanted nothing to do with me. And eventually, I’d given up trying.

“But maybe if I understood why…” Logan trailed off, obviously hoping I’d fill in the blanks.

I’d been waiting for this question. It had taken nearly four months to get here. It still surprised me—how little she knew about the situation between her brother and me. If she did, well, I wasn’t sure she’d ever speak to me again.

“That’s not my story to tell.”

“But it sort of is, isn’t it?” she asked.

“If you want to know why your brother hates me so much, you should ask him.”

“I have,” she ground out, her frustration clear.

Part of me was tempted to tell her. I was so sick of keeping this secret, of holding it all inside. But I couldn’t. Wouldn’t. I’d already betrayed Levi once. I’d promised myself to never let it happen again. Not that he’d ever believe that of me after what went down.

“All I can say is that I could’ve handled the situation better. And while it’s no defense, I was young and immature. I’d like to think I’ve grown a lot since then.” Unfortunately, in Levi’s eyes, I hadn’t changed.

Logan was quiet a moment, so I asked, “What prompted this?”