“Is that why she moved?”
He nodded. “About a month after the incident, her house went on sale. She moved an hour north of here. I tried to apologize, but she refused to talk to me.” He closed his eyes briefly. “You have no idea how much I wish I had stopped to think before sending those photos.”
“Probably not as much as she did,” said Keeley. She regretted it the instant the worlds left her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that.” But she was right.
Talon shoved his hands in his pocket. “It’s fine. So now you know. That’s the whole story. And that’s why I never keep pictures on my phone anymore.”
Her mind raced as she went over everything she learned. She knew he was sorry. It was evident in every word, every motion. But despite all that, how could she trust him? What else was he holding back? And what else was he capable of? Being a hothead and making a rash decision was one thing, but he had ruined someone’s life. What if he ruined hers?
Carefully, she said, “It’s a lot to take in.”
For a few seconds, she contemplated falling into his arms and assuring him everything would be okay, but her conscience intervened. “What you did was awful, Talon. You ruined that girl’s high school experience so much that she was forced to move.” And what about beyond high school? Those pictures could follow her to college and jobs … and, ugh, what if her kids saw them?
“I would never do something like that to you,” he swore.
“You say that now ...” She wanted to believe him, but … her whole life was ahead of her. What if something happened and he jeopardized that? She needed to trust the person she was with, not constantly be on alert.
He picked up her hand and placed it on his chest, holding it there with his own. His heart beat rapidly under her palm. “I’ve learned my lesson, Keeley. I’ve changed. I know you don’t believe me. And that’s completely understandable. But at least give me the opportunity to prove I’m not that guy anymore.”
His blue eyes compelled her to listen — to believe. If this had happened a month ago, maybe even a week ago, she would have. But she was a different girl now. One that could speak her mind. She knew what she needed to do. Drawing a deep breath, she explained. “It’s the fact that you were that guy in the first place that worries me. It’s like finding out about your name all over again.”
“Trust me,” he whispered.
“You ask me to blindly trust you, but when will you trust me? When will you tell me the whole truth every time?”
A shadow crossed his face. “When I know you won’t walk away from me.”
“That’s not a relationship, Talon. Keeping secrets only hurts what we’ve built.”
“Can you honestly say if you knew everything upfront, you would have given me a chance?”
Hesitation lined her face.
“Exactly! Don’t you see?” He clutched her shoulders. “I was giving us time to connect, to build our foundation so it could withstand the secrets.”
“You’re forgetting something, Talon.” She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. She tried to stay brave. “You were never going to tell me, Talon. Never,” she repeated. “If I hadn’t pushed, you would have happily left me in the dark.”
“Why would I want the girl I care about to know my darkest secret? The one that I’m most ashamed about?”
Fury threaded her voice. “You tell me because it’s the right thing to do. You tell me because we’re equals. You have no right to decide what is right for this relationship and what is wrong.” Her brown eyes grew animated. “I’m in this, too. And I should have a choice.”
“I did what I thought was best,” he managed to say. “I made mistakes. I see that now, and as much as I would like to, I can’t change the past.”
“And what about the future? How do I know you won’t do the same thing next time?”
“Oh, so there’s a chance we have a relationship now?”
His sarcastic tone broke something in her. She scrambled to repair it, but it was too late. Tears welled in her eyes and slowly coursed down her face.
Talon rested his forehead against hers, gently wiping away the tears with his thumb. “I’m sorry, baby doll. So sorry,” he whispered. “Please don’t cry.” His lips followed his thumb, pressing soft kisses against her cheek.
“I’m just so confused,” she said. “Sometimes it feels as if I’m dating two different guys.”
“I’m just me,” he replied.
She wiped away the last of her tears and raised her head. “But you’re not. Sometimes you can be Talon and other times you can be JT. When you’re Talon, you’re sweet and funny. But every so often, I catch a glimpse of JT. And I don’t know how to reconcile the two.” She thought JT was an act, and Talon was his true self, but what if that wasn’t the case? “I don’t trust JT.”
His nostrils flared. “So what? That’s it? You decide you don’t like one aspect of me, so you quit? You’re not even going to try?”
Her eyes burned as she looked away and quietly whispered, “I don’t know if I want to.”
Her admission hung in the air. All she could hear was the sound of his breathing.
“If you tell me right now there’s no chance of us being together, then I’ll walk away. I won’t bother you again. But if you feel there’s even the slightest chance of us working out, then I’ll fight with everything I have to prove you can trust me.”
With college and everything around her changing, she needed to feel safe in a relationship. Talon was no longer safe. “I’m sorry.”
Keeley saw the pain slash through his face as his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he stepped away from her, his voice flat. “Let’s get you home,” he said.
The drive back lasted a thousand years. She would have felt better if he’d shown her some type of emotion, but she couldn’t read him at all. It was as if a protective shell encased his feelings.
By the time he pulled into her driveway, she was anxious to get out. She had the door halfway open before he even put the truck in park.
“Wait,” he said. “You have my …”
She was still wearing his long-sleeved shirt. “Oh. You probably want that back, huh?” she asked. She slipped out of the soft fabric and handed it back to him.
“Thanks, but I actually meant my ring.”
Her fingers fumbled with the clasp. Her heart stopped as she turned around to hand it to him, an emblem of what they’d lost. “Do you want the charm, too?”
“No,” he whispered. “That was a present.”
She gave him a sad smile and climbed out of the truck. As he drove off, she raised a hand and whispered, “Bye, Talon.”
Edgewood’s Homecoming dance was fast approaching. The student body was abuzz as they gossiped about who was going with whom and what they were going to wear. For the most part, Keeley tuned them out, but every now and then, a stray comment would make its way to her. In those few moments, she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to go to Homecoming with Talon. Which she would never be doing now.
When the lunch bell rang, she found Nicky at one of the cafeteria tables. “I am so sick of hearing about Homecoming,” Keeley said. “I can’t wait for our girls-only weekend.” They planned to spend the whole weekend together. They were going to go bowling and to the movies and sleep over and pamper themselves.
A hesitant look. “About that …”
Keeley felt dread creeping in. Don’t let it be what I think, she thought. She didn’t want to spend Homecoming weekend alone, this year of all years.
“Do you remember Ben, the cross-country runner I had a crush on? Well, he stopped me after English and asked me to the dance.”
Keeley’s stomach dropped. “Are you going?”
“I know we have plans and everything but …” She silently pleaded for Keeley to understand. “It’s senior ye
ar. It’s our last Homecoming. I really want to go.”
Keeley understood. She felt the same way. She had been looking forward to going with Talon even if he was her school’s archenemy. She imagined walking into the dance with him on her arm. They would create a huge uproar.
“He has a friend who doesn’t have a date yet. We could double,” Nicky suggested in a hopeful tone. “It’d be fun! We could go dress shopping together, do our hair and makeup. And Ben and his group are even renting a limo. They’d pay for everything.”
It would be fun to get ready together, but the rest of it? … No. She couldn’t imagine going to that dance with anyone but Talon. “Thanks, but I don’t think I can. Besides, I wouldn’t be a very fun date.” She’d been feeling empty inside. Like a piece was missing from her life.
Nicky stood up. “I don’t want you sitting at home moping. I’ll just tell Ben no.”
She grabbed Nicky’s arm and forced her to sit. “Don’t do that. Go to the dance with him.”
“Are you sure?”
The eagerness in Nicky’s eyes was proof she’d made the right decision. “I’ll be fine. Probably binge-watch another show on Netflix.”
She picked at her food, not really hungry. The worst part of the breakup was when she forgot they weren’t together anymore. Like those moments when, waking up, she’d automatically reach for her phone, expecting a text from him, and then she’d remember what had happened. It was like breaking up all over again. “I know I’m the one who broke up with him, but I miss him. A lot.”
“You made the right choice. You can’t be with someone like that.”
“Doesn’t stop me from missing him. When I go to bed, I find myself reading our texts.” She could see the progression of their relationship. How they opened up and then grew to trust each other.
“Delete those messages. Hell, delete his number. Make a clean break so you can get over him faster.”
Nicky made it sound so easy but it wasn’t. Keeley wasn’t ready to let go yet. She liked the change he brought about in her. What if those changes disappeared now that he was out of her life? Who would keep her accountable? He was the only one who saw the differences.
Gavin nervously approached their table. He kept shooting glances over his shoulder like he didn’t want anyone to see him. “Keeley, can we talk? Privately?”
“If this is about Talon, I don’t have anything to say. I still can’t believe you’re related.”
“Please?” he begged. “It’ll only take a minute or two.”
Reluctantly, she agreed. What did she have to lose? She followed him to an empty classroom and sat down in one of the seats.
Gavin clasped his hands together, almost like he was getting ready to make a speech. “I know you don’t want to hear about JT, but I think you should know he really cares about you.”
“That’s not the issue.” She knew his feelings for her were real. That’s what made it so hard.
“He still carries around a lot of guilt for what he did to Claire. He doesn’t talk about it, but he’s different now.”
That caught her attention. “What do you mean?”
“When he found out about Claire and Zach, he was angry, even volatile, but after he sent those photos …” His face tightened as if in pain. “He became resigned, as if being an asshole was his lot in life. There’s a huge difference between the guy who moved here and the guy he is now. When you guys started dating, it was like having the old Talon back. Don’t judge him based off one mistake that’s in the past.”
Keeley knew what it was like to try to change. But still ... “You can’t just sweep things under the rug and pretend they’re not there. He did what he did. And it’s not just that. The fact that he sent those pictures in the first place makes me worried. I know he was upset but it doesn’t make it okay.”
“Haven’t you ever been so angry you did things you didn’t mean?” Gavin argued, his eyes flashing.
“But I didn’t act upon it. There’s a huge difference.” She couldn’t keep arguing about this with him. She did enough of that by herself. “Gavin, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it’s over.”
“But he tried to fix it! He tried to get people to stop sending them around. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
It did count; but, it didn’t take away what he did, either. Those pictures were still out there. That girl’s life was still ruined.
“Just think about what I said, okay?” Gavin was almost out the door when he stopped. Turning around, he gave a sheepish expression. “One last question — are you going to tell Zach about me? Being related to Talon and helping him with the prank?”
That was a good question. One she didn’t have an answer for. She realized how much hell Gavin would be put through if the football team found out, but at the same time, she made that promise with Zach. No more secrets. She weighed her options. At the end of the day, her relationship with Zach was more important. “I’m going to have to tell him. I’m sorry, Gavin.”
His shoulders slumped. “I figured. Oh well.”
When Keeley sat back down at the table, Nicky asked, “What did he want?”
“Trying to get me back together with Talon.”
“I hope you told him no.”
“Of course.” But some of Gavin’s words had struck a chord with her. At what point does a person get forgiven? Can they be forgiven? And even if she was to forgive Talon, how could she ever trust him again?
It was the night of Homecoming. Keeley was on the couch eating ice cream when the doorbell rang. It was probably Zach and his hands were too full to open the door. He’d gone to pick up their food at the Chinese restaurant around the block. When he found out she was staying home by herself, he’d canceled his date and insisted on spending the night with her. She quickly paused the show to answer the door.
“Claire,” she whispered, recognizing the girl in Zach’s picture. Same delicate features and silky straight hair.
Surprise registered on her face. “You know who I am.”
“I’ve heard about you.”
Claire flinched, and Keeley would have missed it if she hadn’t been watching closely. “I see,” she murmured. And Keeley had a sense she did see. She saw the whole complicated picture. A few uncomfortable moments passed before she asked, “Can I come in?”
Keeley’s hand tightened around the doorknob. “Zach’s not here.”
There was nothing small about the flinch this time. Claire’s whole body reared back as if struck by a two-by-four. “I know. I saw him leave.”
That must mean she’s here to talk to me, Keeley thought. She studied Claire. There was no doubt she was pretty, but she wasn’t gorgeous like so many of the girls her brother dated. However, there was something about her that made a person stop and stare. Keeley couldn’t put her finger on it, but whatever it was, it radiated from within.
Keeley stepped aside. “Can I get you anything? Water? Soda? Juice?” she asked as she ushered her to the living room. Tucker followed hot on their heels.
Claire ran a hand over her sweater, smoothing out invisible wrinkles. “No, thank you. I had some water on the drive over.”
It struck Keeley as funny that they were acting like a couple of adults. Clearly, they were both nervous and trying to cover it up with good manners. She sat down on the couch and Claire picked the chair across the way. She smoothed her sweater again as her eyes darted around the room. Keeley patiently sat there, determined to let Claire speak first and set the tone of the conversation. After all, she was the one who had shown up unexpectedly. It was her show.
“You know, I’ve always wondered what the inside of your house looked like,” Claire finally said.
“Zach never brought you here?”
A wistful look entered her eyes. “He always wanted to meet somewhere else. I asked one time if we could come here so
I could meet you, and he told me he wasn’t ready to share me yet.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Keeley replied, rubbing her sweaty hands against the back of her shirt. “He’s never been good about sharing his things.”
“I see,” Claire said softly.
When she didn’t go on, Keeley asked, “So you wanted to meet me when you guys were …” What exactly did she call what they did? Dating? Two-timing?
Claire’s eyes, the shade of dark honey, flashed. “He was always talking about you. I wanted to be friends.” She looked away, her body tense. “But I guess there’s no chance of that happening now.”
This conversation was every bit as awkward as Keeley thought it would be. She fiddled with the tassels of a pillow, wondering what to say. Conscious choice, she told herself. Be bold. “Claire, why did you come here? Is this about Zach? Talon? Or both?”
She didn’t answer for a long time. Keeley wondered if she was going to talk at all, but then she jetted out a breath and swallowed. “I’m sure you know what happened between your brother, JT and I. It’s not exactly a big secret around here.”
The pain carved in Claire’s face called out to Keeley. “It’s not as widespread as you think,” she assured her. “I didn’t even know what happened until recently.”
Claire’s look of gratitude humbled her. Clearly, this girl had been through a lot. It showed not only in her expression, but also in the way she dressed. She wore an oversized sweater, baggy jeans and running shoes. The only skin showing was on her hands, neck and face. Like she didn’t want anyone to see her.
“I’ve tried hard to forget what happened and move on with my life.” Claire’s head tilted down so she could stare at the floor. “But something always crops back up and makes its way to the surface. It can be a photo or rumors or running into someone from here.” Her hand trembled as she reached up and brushed the bangs out of her eyes.
It was clear she’d been through a lot. “I’m so sorry,” Keeley whispered. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
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