Page 83 of Don't Say You're Sorry

I call Adam again. He answers this time, his voice coming through the speakers. “Hello?”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I…” He pauses, lowering his voice as if he’s afraid someone will hear him talking to me. “What happened? Are you okay? Why are you out of the gym so early?”

“Where are you?”

“At home.”

“Do not leave that house. Do you understand me? I don’t care what he says. Do not go with him. I’m coming, baby.”

He sniffs. I curse. I’m going to kill Axel.

“Okay,” he finally says. “Okay. Be careful.”

“I will.”

I hang up and take a breath, doing my best not to get killed as I speed all the way home.

When I turn onto our street, I see the Uber waiting outside the house. Adam’s standing on the sidewalk a few houses down. I slam on the brakes, screeching to a halt in front of him.

I get out of the car and run to him. His hands are in his pockets, and his head is lowered, his face crumbling when he sees the look on mine. Tears stream over his cheeks, and it takes everything in me not to go to our house and beat the ever-loving shit out of his brother.

How dare he. How fucking dare he.

I cup his face, forcing him to look at me. “Baby, don’t do this.”

Breaking eye contact, he presses his forehead against mine, his hands clutching my wrists in a tight grip. “I have to,” he chokes out.

“No. No, you don’t have to leave. We’ll figure something else out. We’ll…we’ll stop.”

“What?”

“We can go back. Back to being best friends. Back to being brothers?—”

He flinches. “I can’t do that, E. I can’t go back.”

I’m losing him.Fuck, I’m losing him. He’s really going to do it. He’s going to move to London and leave me here.

“Please, Adam,” I beg. “I’ll do anything. I’ll takeanythingover this. Please, don’t leave me.”

“Easton, let me go,” he whispers.

I quickly release him and take a small step back, looking over when I see Axel walking toward us. I glare at the motherfucker, but he doesn’t bat an eye.

“You dropped this,” he says, stepping closer to hand me my phone.

I snatch it and toss it onto the hood of my car. Just as I’m about to punch him, I see my dad and Veronica standing on the street outside our house, watching us. My shoulders tense.

Adam backs away from me, and I subtly shake my head. “Don’t you dare.”

He flinches. He can’t even look at me.

“Do you love me?”

He says nothing. Nods once.

“Then stay,” I croak. “Please.”