Theo
T he door to my office banged open as Scout stormed in, and a blur of blue soared through the air before it hit me square in the face.
“What the hell, Scout?” I gripped the empty Pop-Tarts box in my hand. “Why did you do that?”
I scoffed and tossed the box aside. “There are others in the pantry?—”
“No! There aren’t!” she shouted. “Everything is empty. The fridge, the pantry, the cupboards. You ate all my snacks.”
“Can we not do this right now?” I pinched between my eyes. I hadn’t slept in three days. I couldn’t.
Not with Brynne on the other side of town hating me. I still didn’t know why, and every time I tried to reach out, I was left more upset than before. She didn’t answer. Didn’t even acknowledge my existence.
On top of that, Scout had been pissed at me for any and everything, and Mom barely spoke to me when she came to pick up Scout for school. It felt like I couldn’t win, no matter what I did.
“Whatever. Larry needs food. I need food. And you need?—”
“I’ll take care of it,” I snapped. “Jesus Christ. Can I have a fucking second?”
I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.
She stared at me for a moment, a cold wall sliding up behind her eyes. I felt it click into place, felt us go backward. All the trust I’d painstakingly worked so hard for was gone.
“Scout.” I sighed, but she shook her head and disappeared through the office door.
Resting my elbows on the desk, I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes until all I saw were stars. I’d never felt like this. I’d never looked like this.
I’d lived in my sweatpants for the last few days. I hadn’t shaped my beard, or styled my hair, or worked on the lighthouse project. All I’d done was stare at my phone and wait for a call from her. A text.
A fucking like on Instagram.
Anything that would tell me she was alive and didn’t hate me.
I just wanted to fix this, but I didn’t know how because I didn’t know what was broken. Was it what Sean said?
She had to know I didn’t think that. She had to know I didn’t care about the size of her body. I liked her .
Fuck.
I loved her.
Even if I was blind and had never seen what she looked like, I’d still love her. In fifty years, when we were both wrinkled and gray, I’d still love her. Because looks faded, but her heart wouldn’t.
Who she was would stay the same forever, and that was what I loved more than anything else. She was beautiful. The most gorgeous, goddess-like woman I’d ever seen. And with the way I worshiped her body the other night, she had to know that, right? She had to know what I felt. What I thought.
But maybe I’d been too rough with her. Maybe I’d scared her away.
Maybe this issue with Sean was an easy excuse to end things.
A honk came from outside, and I lifted my head, the world a hazy blend of too-bright colors. Groaning, I got to my feet and hurried out of the office in time to see Scout slam the front door behind her. The lock snapped into place, the sound deafening.
I stood in the middle of the room, listening as rocks faintly crunched under the tires of Mom’s car as she pulled out of the driveway. My phone was a lead brick in my pocket as I paced the foyer.
I couldn’t keep acting like this. I had to fix things before I ruined every other relationship in my life.
Brynne was likely already at school. Calling her would be a mistake.
But my hand slipped into my pocket, anyway. My thumb slid across the ice-cold screen. I hesitated before I tapped her name.
Her little photo was mocking. She smiled up at me like she was happy to see me.
But it was a lie.
I pressed the call button and held it to my ear, my heart in my throat.
It went straight to voicemail.
It didn’t even ring.
Did she…did she block me?
Betrayal and anger warred inside me. What had I done that was so terrible to warrant getting blocked? I shoved my hand through my hair, breathing heavily through my nose.
I wasn’t thinking clearly. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than Brynne—getting to her, figuring out what the problem was, smoothing everything over, and going back to normal.
That was all I wanted.
I missed her. I missed talking to her, and laughing with her, and seeing her. Touching her. It was more than sex. It was love .
I’d never let myself fall for anyone before, because, inevitably, this would happen. The drama. The heartbreak. The not knowing.
With my mind made up, I strode across the foyer, snatched the keys from their spot, and headed outside, my strides long and footsteps hard. The engine barely rumbled to life before I shot down the driveway, heading first for the school.
My fingers drummed against the leather steering wheel as trees and grass passed by in a blurry haze of color. I never thought I would do this—chase a woman. It wasn’t me. So, what? She didn’t want to be with me anymore.
I should just move on. Find someone else.
The old Theo would’ve done that—no, the old Theo would’ve never been in this position to begin with. He would’ve never let himself get close to her, and he would’ve, under no circumstance, allowed himself to fall in love with her like a fucking idiot.
I knew my old way of life was better. Work was simple. It was easy. Friends, easy. Sleeping around, easy .
Relationships were hard. They were messy.
And I’d never wanted it. Not until now.
I drove past the teacher parking lot, searching for Brynne’s little car, but when I didn’t see it, I headed in the opposite direction toward her house. She had to be somewhere in town, and if I had to tear apart every fucking building to find her, I would. And if she wasn’t here, I’d hunt her down.
We had to talk about this. We had to move past it.
If she was insecure about her body, I could help her work through it. If it was Sean that was the problem, I would take care of it. Whatever it was, I would fix it.
Because I had to be with her.
I couldn’t live another minute without knowing she loved me back.
I pulled into her driveway and leapt out, not bothering to shut the car off. My fist shook as I pounded it against the door. Anxiety twisted my stomach until I felt like I was going to puke.
Then the door swung open. But it wasn’t Brynne standing there, glaring at me.
It was her brother.
“Where’s Brynne?” I asked breathlessly, hands gripping the doorframe. “ Where is she, Mason?”
“She doesn't want to see you.” He folded his arms across his chest and widened his stance.
“Is she home?” I peered past him, but there was no sign of her. No sign of life. “Is she okay?”
He scoffed, turning his head to the side like he couldn’t stand to look at me.
“Get out of here, Theo,” he said quietly. “She doesn’t want to see you. I certainly don’t want to fucking see you?—”
“Why?” I shouted. “What the fuck did I do?”
Mason turned a seething gaze my way. “What did you do?” he repeated, his voice dripping with hate. “You have the fucking audacity to ask what you did? You know what you did, you sick fuck.”
He pressed his hands to my chest and shoved me backward. I stumbled onto the porch, nearly falling. Quickly, I righted myself and charged toward him.
He was fifteen years younger than me and the love of my life’s brother, but I’d do what I had to do to get to her.
I tackled him into the house, his back hitting the wall. A breath left his lungs in a harsh whoosh, and I stepped back. He didn’t hesitate—he swung his fist, hitting me square in the jaw. My head jerked to the side, stars dancing in my vision. I stumbled back, blinking a few times.
He glared at me, his chest heaving, face red. “Get the fuck out,” he snarled. “ Now .”
“What is going on?” Brynne shouted, storming into the living room. She came to a dead stop when she saw me. “Why are you here?”
“Warm welcome,” I said sarcastically, rubbing my aching jaw. “Glad to see you’re alive.”
She folded her arms across her chest, her chin lifting slightly. “Why are you here?” she repeated, her voice harder. Mason bounced on the balls of his feet a few times, shaking out his hands as he watched me.
“I haven’t heard from you in days,” I said, throwing my arms out. “What the fuck is your problem? We—we had a good night together.”
“And then reality set in,” she said coldly.
It felt like a bullet through the chest. I glanced at Mason, wishing he’d go away. But he didn’t. He stood there, waiting for Brynne to tell him what to do.
“You regret it?” I asked, and she looked away. This time when I spoke, my voice came out quieter. “What did I do?”
“You seriously have to ask that?” She let out a manic-sounding laugh. At the look on my face, she scoffed and waved dismissively.
“Don't—” I stumbled forward, and Mason stepped between us. Reaching up, I dragged my hand over my face, trying to calm down. “Explain what I did. Clearly, I don’t know.”
“You made a bet with Sean!” she screamed, tears lining her eyes. “You bet him that you’d fuck me before he did!”
I blinked at her. What the fuck was she talking about?
“I didn’t bet him anything,” I said, my brows tightening in confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Brynne.”
“No?” She wiped roughly at her cheek. “So, you didn’t tell him that you could fuck me before I ever looked at him?”
“No—”
“The night you found out about Scout? You weren’t going out with your friends? He didn’t find me on Pulse? You didn’t bet him?—”
“Oh, my god.” I took a deep breath, pressing my palm to my forehead. “That is not how it happened.”
“So, how did it happen?” she asked.
My mind raced back to that night. I swallowed thickly as everything came rushing back. “Yeah, we were going out to celebrate Jordy becoming a dad,” I began, my hands sweaty. “And Sean saw you on Pulse. He—he said some shit that pissed me off. And?—”
My heart sank.
I lifted my eyes to hers.
“And?” she prompted, brows raised. I licked my dry lips.