Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Coming back to Oakhill Creek had been a mistake. I liked to think I was a strong woman and that I could handle rejection, but damn, lying to myself only made it worse.
It hurt.
It fucking stung to know Tyler was able to pick up all our broken pieces and mend himself back together.
Forget the fact that I had feelings for him, and he never reciprocated them.
That was fine. I couldn’t fault him for not feeling the same kind of love I did, but the fact that he could flush all those years of friendship down the toilet in one night fucking killed me.
Leaving never made me stronger.
Leaving was a temporary relief to an open wound I refused to look at anymore, and now that we were forced to be in the same town, I could feel the burn and the sting it still carried.
I wanted to leave this town. Being here wasn’t home—hell, I don’t think my home was here since the beginning.
My home had been my parents and him. And it was for that same exact reason I couldn’t go anywhere.
I had my parents, who seemed happier than I had ever seen them in any video call, and that would have to be enough to sustain me.
It would have to be enough to keep me here for a few years.
My younger self had attached our family to the Kanes, and now it was up to me to deal with the consequences. This town would just have to be big enough to hold the two of us.
“Are you okay, Astrid?” Rachel broke the silence once we were parked in her driveway. I had been too lost in my own head to even notice us driving away.
“Yeah,” I lied. “I’m tired. Guess I’m not hacked for the nighttime life.”
I could feel her staring at me, but I didn’t meet her eyes because she might just call me out on my bullshit.
“Tell me about it,” she murmured. “I am ready to go lay in bed.”
My shoulders relaxed once I knew she would be dropping it. I turned to her with a small smile plastered on my face. Anything was better than being asked about Ty. I wouldn’t even know how to begin describing our mess—mostly because I felt so pathetic about it.
“Zeke was flirting with you,” I teased her.
Her eyes widened, but she shook her head instantly.
“Ah no, don’t even go there.”
My eyes narrowed at the blush staining her cheeks.
“Because you already went there, didn’t you?”
This didn’t surprise me. Zeke and Adam were probably the biggest manwhores this town had. When I was in high school, I didn’t know much about manwhores, but I knew Zeke was one, and I don’t think much had changed in the last few years. He just gave that forever-bachelor vibe.
“Since you’re so tired, you should go to sleep,” she pointed toward my house.
I scrunched my nose at her dismissal, but I had a feeling that if I pressed the subject, she would do the same about Tyler.
“We will try this again next week,” I let her know. “The night is still young if you want to call Zeke to keep you company.”
Rachel didn’t miss a beat.
“Sure, I’ll head back right now and let Tyler know you were asking for him.”
I gasped.
“You wouldn’t.”
She got out of her fancy car and waved me away.
“I’ll be there first thing Monday morning for some coffee,” I threatened.
My parents were still lying on the couch watching another movie. When I walked in, they both turned to look at me.
“What happened? Why are you back so soon?” my mom immediately asked.
“You used to stay out longer when you were in high school,” my daddy added.
“Yeah, I guess I’m growing up.”
It looked like my mom wanted to say more. Of course she was aware that it was Tyler’s birthday. He would probably be over for a special Sunday dinner. Although she had not mentioned it.
“You want to join us, June bug?” my dad asked as he patted the spot next to him.
“Let me go wash up,” I told them as I headed over to my room.
I took out my silky pajamas, and then grabbed my nighttime routine regimen and took my clothes to the bathroom with me. Once in there, I decided to jump quickly in the shower. There was nothing that couldn’t be solved by a hot-as-fuck shower.
At this rate, I would miss most of the movie, but at least I was relaxed. Once I was done, my face looked like a glazed donut, and a towel was wrapped around my head when I made my way back to my room so I could put my laundry away.
Not paying much attention, I put the clothing in the bin, and when I turned around, I saw the shadow of someone sitting on my bed.
“What the fuck?” I said loud enough that my parents would have heard me if they weren’t watching a movie.
My stomach dropped, and my hand came to my chest as if I were trying to stop my poor, scared heart from beating out.
Tyler Kane was sitting on my bed. His feet were on the floor, and his hands were resting on the mattress on either side of him. He looked relaxed like he belonged here. We had done this before, but that was then, and now he was not welcome.
He didn’t look drunk—actually, his face was impassive.
“If you really wanted me out, you would have locked your window.” He shrugged as if he had read my mind.
My mouth opened and closed at the audacity in his tone.
“My window was closed. You were the psychopath who decided just because it was unlocked that it somehow meant you were welcome to come inside.”
He cocked his head.
That’s when I remembered I was fresh from my nighttime routine, and he just ruined it. His eyes met mine for a few seconds before they began to wander down my body.
It was the second time he had done that. The first time had been on my first day back—but that had been a mistake. Tyler had known me for years, and not once had he ever sexualized me. Hell, past me would have welcomed it at any chance.
My tank top was short and tight, the material flimsy and perfect for sleeping in warmer weather. The shorts were soft and stuck to my skin like a second skin. I couldn’t help but shift under his scrutiny.
“Close the door, Astrid,” he mumbled as he faced me again.
There was a grin on his face that made the bastard look sexy.
I crossed my arms, forgetting about how I looked, and glared at him.
“Get out of my room, Tybamate.”
This time, he didn’t seem annoyed at the fact that I wasn’t saying his name. He smirked at me.
“You’re going to have to say my name eventually, beautiful.”
“My name is Astrid. And that’s never going to happen, you tyrant.”
He scowled at that word.
“Fine, don’t close the door, beautiful, but then don’t complain when your parents catch us in bed together.”
The way he said it sounded sexual, and there was nothing sexual about this.
I closed the door at his words. Not because anything was going to be happening, but because I didn’t need my parents nosing around things they had no business nosing around anymore.
His masculine chuckle had my stomach dropping for different reasons.
I just fucking showered. There was no reason for me to be wet so soon.
Forget that my happy place wanted Tyler, and the stupid hussy didn’t get the memo that he wasn’t for us, but there was nothing more annoying than wanting to beat someone up one second to wanting to know if the promise of having them was all you made it out to be.
In my experience, cocky guys equaled disappointment.
“They won’t be catching us?—”
“Because you closed the door,” he interrupted me smugly.
“Because you are leaving!” I pointed to my window and continued to glare at him. I was sure if I had Superman’s laser vision, I would have to explain to the Kane family why Tyler was no longer with us.
Tyler grinned at me and then let himself plop back on my bed.
Enraged, I closed the distance between us and took one of his hands. The same hands that had been wrapped around me an hour ago, and I tried to pull him out of my bed. Except he wasn’t budging at all.
One second, I was standing, trying to pull the asshole up.
The next, he turned the tables on me, and not only did he pull me toward him, but then maneuvered me so I was lying down on the bed.
His actions had my blood racing. It was one thing having his body pressed against mine in a crowded bar, and a whole different thing having him hover above me in my own bed.
My childhood bed remembered his imprint.
How many nights did he “sneak” into my room and we proceeded to have impromptu sleepovers?
Too many to count. My mom caught him the morning after the first time he did it.
She walked into my room, waking us both with the promise of pancakes.
She wasn’t mad, because how could anyone be mad at him for needing comfort?
Then I made Ty call his dad to apologize for worrying him.
After that night, Ty’s dad would drop him off if he couldn’t sleep.
That went up until eighth grade when our parents made us stop.
Ty would only sneak in when he couldn’t sleep, and then, during our sophomore year, he stopped sleeping over altogether.
He would come, but he would leave right after I fell asleep.
“What’s going on through that mind of yours?” Ty asked as he removed the towel from my hair. He threw it on the floor, and somehow, the action made me feel bare despite still having my clothes on.
“What the hell are you doing?” I said, trying to wiggle free, but it was useless. I was pinned down.
“Making sure you keep your word,” he stated.
I could smell mint with a hint of tequila on his breath. Maybe he was a bit drunk after all.
“My word?” I asked as I put both my hands on his chest and tried to push him away.
“Four,” he told me.
Before I could grill him further, he moved back, and I sighed in relief that I wouldn’t have him so close to me anymore. My pajamas were not going to do me any favors if I stayed in that position much longer.
“Four birthdays I’ve spent without you. I might not be your best friend anymore, and that fucking kills me, but you never stopped being mine.”
My mouth parted at his admission, and I could feel Tyler’s eyes zeroing in on my lips. And for the ten thousandth time, I wondered if the thought of kissing me ever crossed his mind like it plagued mine all through high school.
“Beautiful girl. You made a promise, and I’m going to make sure you keep it.”
“Stop calling me that,” I replied, my voice losing the annoyance and anger it held earlier.
Something seemed to have shifted at that moment. The air became electric and heavy. I wasn’t the only one affected; I could tell Tyler was, too, because, at that moment, his eyes went from my face to my lips and my face once more.
I held my breath.
He was going to kiss me, wasn’t he?
Did I want him to kiss me?
Just then, my stomach grumbled, and my cheeks immediately went red. The moment was officially ruined, and Tyler smiled at me just like he used to do before I left town. It was the kind of smile he rarely ever let anyone see—carefree and full of white teeth.
He sat up and reached for something he left on the vanity that was by my window.
“You left right away. I figured you didn’t even eat.”
His tone was a bit more hesitant now as he handed me the box with what I hoped were wings from Zeke’s.
Tentatively, I reached for them. I mean, who would say no to wings—free wings?
“It’s your birthday, Typal,” I reminded him, and he rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be celebrating with your friends?”
“I’m with the only person who matters.” He shrugged.
“You would have more fun with them.”
He motioned for me to sit down and did the same on the other side of the bed.
“This is better than any birthday I’ve had in the last four years.”
The concrete I had encased all over my heart was beginning to crack.
“You can stay until I finish eating, but then you must leave.”
I could see the tension leave his body at my words.
“About prom night?—”
“Don’t,” I immediately stopped him. “We are not going to talk about that now.”
His jaw clenched, not happy that I didn’t let him talk about the past. The time for making amends was long gone.
I opened the lid to the takeout box, and my mouth watered at the sight of the wings. I had just brought one to my mouth and taken the first bite when Tyler spoke again.
“I wasn’t going home with Carrie.”
I almost choked on the food.
“That’s none of my business,” I let him know even though his admission did something funny to me.
“There’s no one.”
My belly dipped and fluttered.
I didn’t know what to say, so I kept quiet, but he felt the need to keep going.
“Just wanted you to know.”
Why the fuck did he just say that for? Feelings that should be dead had no reason to resurface.
“This truce is only until I finish my food,” I reminded him.
He grinned at me, and I wanted to smack that smug grin off his face.
“I eat fast.”
“You still haven’t given me a present,” he said instead.
“Well, that sucks for you.”
Even though my tone feigned nonchalance, I still felt some guilt.
“Say my name.” His voice was soft, almost pleading.
“Nice try, Typebar.”
“I can be patient. I know it will happen again.”
After that, I ate in silence. It wasn’t as weird as I would have thought having someone watching me eat would be. Once I was done, Tyler got up and began to climb out the window.
Before he jumped out, he turned to look at me and gave me a half smile.
“Thanks for letting me stay, Astrid.”