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He puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “You want to get out of here?” I think about it for a full minute before I answer him.
“No,” I say because the thought of leaving, knowing she is here, is worse than staying here and loving her from afar, “it’ll make a scene if we do.”
“Who gives a fuck?” he hisses. “No one cares.”
“I do. Let’s just grab something to eat.”
“Okay.” He squeezes my shoulder again. “But if at any time you want to leave, all you have to do is say the word.” I don’t say anything except to nod at him.
We walk back out to the foyer and see that it’s empty. Everyone is back to normal. Or at least pretending they are. We walk into the kitchen, and I say hello to my aunts before grabbing a plate. My eyes try not to do a sweep of the room to see where she is.
I spot her sitting between Gabriella and Romeo, her head down as she looks at her plate, the fork in her hand pushing things away. I wonder if she’s as affected as I am, or does she even care. I walk out and go the opposite direction from where she is, spotting Christopher sitting at a table with Dylan. The two of them look like they are having an intense conversation. When I pull out a chair and sit down, they both stop talking. “You good?” Dylan looks at me and I just shrug.
“That was fucking brutal,” Christopher says. “Swear to God, I had no idea she was going to be here.”
“It’s fine.” I grab a water bottle from the middle of the table. “It had to happen sometime,” I mumble while Maddox comes to sit next to Dylan, who leans over and grabs him around the neck in a chokehold and kisses his head.
“Dad,” he grumbles.
“Love you, kid,” Dylan says to him, letting him go. “Don’t forget it.”
“What’s with the mullet?” I ask Maddox, who just smirks. His hair is shorter on top, shaved on the side, but long in the back.
“It’s the fashion,” Dylan answers for him.
“Mullets are back in style?” I ask, trying not to look over and see Ryleigh.
“Apparently,” Dylan confirms, “I had the same hair style when I was eight, except it was called hockey flow.”
“Who didn’t have that haircut?” Christopher interjects. “I think my third, fourth, and fifth grade picture had that haircut.” We all laugh at him as we start talking about the game last night.
I glance over at her a couple of times, and each time she looks quiet and withdrawn. Each time I silently hope she looks over at me so I can look into her eyes.
I push away from the table that went from the four of us to at least fifteen people all squishing in. “I’ll be back,” I announce, walking with my head down. This is too much for me. Even though I want to be in the same room with her, I can’t do it.
I make my way to the front door, planning to just get an Uber and text Christopher that I left. Someone grabs my arm, and when I look over, I see Romeo. “A word,” he says, and even though I want to rip my arm out of his hand, I just turn to face him, his hand falling off mine.
“You get one minute,” I tell him, standing with my feet apart and my hands by my sides.
“I’m not going to need a minute,” he hisses, looking around to make sure no one else can hear us. “You’re fucking stupid.”
“Is this what you wanted to have a word with me for?” I roll my eyes, not admitting to him I’m fully aware of how fucking stupid I am. Stupid to have fallen in love with her. Stupider to have let her go.
“You should have never messed with her.” He advances a touch, and I see my uncles Matthew and Max waiting and watching in case they have to step in. They aren’t the only ones; my father stands with Tyler. Their eyes are on us, but they’re too far away to hear what we’re saying.
“Fuck you,” I say to him, “I’m never going to regret that.” I shake my head. “I didn’t care back then what you thought, and I don’t care now.” His jaw clenches. “You think this is easy for me?” I ask him. “You think I don’t feel like I’ve lost a piece of me?” I advance. “You know nothing.”
“Really?” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Did you know she was going to give it all up for you?” he says, and I take a step back as if he just punched me in the face. “She was giving up on all her dreams for you.” He points a finger and stabs my shoulder. “For you, she was giving it all up.” He shakes his head, and I’m speechless. “Guess you didn’t know that, did you?”
With that, he turns around and walks away from me, past our fathers and out the back door toward Gabriella and Ryleigh. Toward the woman who is my home.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
ryleigh
“Are you ready to get out of here?” Romeo asks when he comes back from the bathroom, his hands balled into fists beside his legs.
“I think so,” Gabriella says, looking at me.
