Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WESLEY
Dad was not thrilled about being woken up at two in the morning.
He was even less thrilled when I told him I’d broken Lane’s nose and he needed a ride to the hospital.
Emmett was technically sober and could’ve driven him, but he was just as pissed at Lane as the rest of us.
Honestly, Lane’s fucking lucky that’s all I broke. I always knew he was a dick and he said stupid shit when he was talking with the guys, but he’d taken it way too fucking far. He crossed over into the “find out” part of fucking around.
When I saw him pin Sadie against the wall, something in me snapped. One second, I was across the room. The next, I was on him—ripping him off her so hard it should’ve torn his arm from the socket.
The guilt hit me like a sledgehammer when she crumpled to the floor sobbing.
It was all my fault. I’d been the one who invited Lane to drink with us.
He turned us down three times before I pushed just enough for him to give in.
I didn’t think it was a big deal—he never said he couldn’t drink, just that he didn’t want to.
We were halfway into our second game when I noticed something different about him. He was chattier than usual, and a little too amped-up. I didn’t think twice at first—most of the guys loosen up after a few drinks.
But he had more than a few, and it escalated quickly. He drank right from the bottle and his fun, breezy energy became twisted and mean.
Still, nobody said anything. Nobody told him he should slow down.
Nobody called him out for being a dick. I thought he was finally showing everyone what I’d known all along—Lane was an asshole, and always had been.
I didn’t see the red flags until Sadie was in his lap.
She was trying to play it off but I saw the stiffness in her shoulders, the way her smile didn’t reach her eyes. I saw it and I knew something was off.
Because I know her.
What I didn’t catch was that Lane was the reason. Not until I heard what he said when he asked her to go up to his room.
She was embarrassed, trying to keep her voice low so the whole table wouldn’t hear. But he was either completely oblivious or just didn’t care.
Like I said—he’s an asshole.
Once he shoved her against the wall, that was it for me. I wanted to drop him right then and there, but Landon was on me before I could follow through.
The edges of my vision blurred, my body vibrating with the fury I’d been holding in for weeks. And then Lane opened his mouth, pulling the pin on my rage grenade. Land didn’t even try to stop me. Lane deserved it.
Fuck, I wish I’d broken more than just his nose. He’d broken Sadie’s heart. Breaking his face felt like fair trade.
I’ll have to wait my turn.
Was that all she was to him—a fucking conquest? She deserves better.
The house hasn’t felt the same since that night.
Dad’s disappointment in Lane was obvious. He’s always thought of him like another son, giving him a job, a home, and a chance to prove himself. I don’t know if Lane told him the whole truth, but Heath Morrow is not a stupid man.
The next morning felt like déjà vu. Sadie didn’t come down for breakfast. Wouldn’t answer the door for me or Emmett. I hated feeling like we were back to square one, especially after all the progress she’d made.
She was a completely different person than the lost, closed-off girl who showed up to throw my summer off the rails.
I liked the new Sadie.
By day two, the pit in my stomach had doubled, and I felt even more shitty. I wanted to be able to tell her I was sorry. I was a mess, but every time I tried, her door remained shut.
Emmett called in reinforcements and drove Lydia over during her lunch break to try to coax her out. But even that didn’t work.
Every free moment I had was spent sitting in the hallway outside her door. I had an endless list of things I could’ve been working on. My project had taken a back seat, because Sadie was more important.
Through the door, I’d hear her soft sobbing, the creak of floorboards when she walked to the bathroom, and the low hum of somber music bleeding through the walls.
I knew she liked Lane—it was painfully clear when I would see her smiling up at him with a sparkle in her eyes. I guess I just didn’t want him to mean that much to her. Because if he didn’t…maybe there was a chance she could still want me.
All I want is for her to be happy.
On the third day, she finally opens the door. I’m sitting on the floor with my back against the wall, pretending to read a book, when I hear her soft footsteps. I assume she’s just going to take her third shower of the day, but then the door slowly creaks open.
Cooling my features, I try to look casual—like I’m not sitting outside her bedroom door like a stalker. I intentionally hesitate before glancing up at her.
God, she’s so beautiful.
Her long, wavy blonde hair is still a little damp from her shower earlier. She’s wearing black leggings and her usual oversized T-shirt. It’s such a simple outfit; it shouldn’t affect me the way it does. But nothing about her is simple.
“Oh. Hey,” she says softly, frozen in the threshold. Her hand grips the glass doorknob so tightly the tips of her fingers blanch.
“Hey, Sades,” I say, giving her a small smile.
She scans the hallway slowly before looking back at me. “Uh…What are you doing?”
I smirk down at the book lying open in my lap. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
She releases her grip on the knob, leaning into the frame and crossing her arms over her chest. “Looks like you’re waiting outside my bedroom door…pretending to read.”
Shit.
“Pretending? You wound me.” I press my hand over my chest as if she’d shot an arrow straight through my heart.
In a way, she has.
She arches an eyebrow at me, not buying it. So I take the bait.
“Alright, you caught me. I was reading…before you came out here and interrupted me.” I wasn’t.
She scoffs. “I interrupted you?”
“Yup.”
Neither one of us says anything, and a full minute passes us by. I’m about to ask if she’s okay when the front door slams shut and booted footsteps thump up the stairs.
Emmett freezes at the top of the steps, his gaze flicking between me sitting on the ground and Sadie standing in the open doorway.
“Hey. I was actually coming to ask if you’d want to tag along on a sunset trail ride.”
She quickly glances down at me before answering. “Oh…um, no. Sorry, I don’t think I’m really up for it tonight. Thanks for asking, though.”
His smile dims but I don’t think she notices it. He tips his hat to us before pivoting and trotting back down the stairs and out the front door, letting it slam shut behind him again.
“Emmett!” Dad barks from downstairs.
“Yeah, I know. Sorry!” Emmett’s yell is muffled from outside.
A beat of silence passes between us again and I slam my book shut. “What about a drive?”
She blinks. “What?”
“Would you…be up for going on a drive? With me?”
I immediately regret asking the moment the words leave my lips, but they’re out there and I can’t take them back. If she turned down a sunset ride, why would she say yes to going on a drive with me?
She already caught me waiting outside her room for her—asking her to be alone with me in a car is really laying it on thick. It’s too much, too soon. I’m going to ruin my chance and scare her awa—
“Okay.”
Her soft voice breaks the silent spiral splitting through my head, and it takes me a second to process it.
Before she can change her mind, I jump to my feet and gesture for her to lead the way.
We’re tucked away and off the trail, overlooking the wildflowers glowing gold in the sunset. My favorite spot.
This place is special to me in a way I can’t really explain without sounding crazy.
I come here a lot. Sometimes to think, sometimes to talk to my mom.
I feel closest to her when I’m out here.
Like maybe somehow, she can hear me better when I’m here.
I know it’s not possible, but it’s comforting to think about it that way.
As I shift into park, Sadie rests her head on her arms in the open window, staring out into the watercolor sunset. The warm glow illuminates her face, and she looks utterly ethereal.
I’ve never wanted time travel to exist more than I do right now. I wouldn’t even hesitate going back in time. Kissing her when I had the chance. Claiming her before Lane ever touches her.
But time travel’s not real, and I never kissed her.
She slipped through my fingers and Lane was there to catch her—and hurt her. It’s all my fault for letting him have that chance.
If I hadn’t been so worried about that fucking rule, things would look a lot different right now.
Sadie laughs under her breath, sharp and humorless.
“What’s so funny?” I ask quietly.
She shakes her head. “How I could be so stupid.”
“What?” My voice drops. “No. Look at me.”
She doesn’t. Her shoulders rise and fall with a shaky breath.
“Sadie.” I say, firmer this time.
Her eyes meet mine—like green stained glass, brimming with tears.
“You are not stupid,” I tell her, looking intently into her eyes. “Lane is the stupid one here, okay?”
She shrugs, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m starting to think everyone is right. It’s my own fault that I always find myself in these situations.”
“It’s not your fault.”
She rolls her eyes. “I threw myself into the first person I saw who wasn’t you and latched on. Does that sound like good judgment to you?” She swipes away a tear and huffs a bitter laugh.
Her words knock the air out of me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
Who wasn’t you.
I knew it was my fault, but hearing her say I’m what drove her into Lane’s arms is like a sucker punch to the gut.
“Exactly. Can you just…take me back? I shouldn’t have come. I’m not in the mood to be around anyone right now.”
“Sadie—”
“Save it, Wesley. You know I’m right.” She throws her head back into the headrest. “Ugh. I am so fucking over the back-and-forth of everything.”