Page 93 of Don't Say You're Sorry

Can you call me, please? I need you.

I wait.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Twenty.

He doesn’t call.

I sniff and grit my teeth, calling his number and pressing the phone to my ear. Just like always, it rings and rings. I’m so familiar with this sound that I hear it in my dreams sometimes.

It goes to voicemail. I wait for the beep.

“Hey,” I say, my voice cracking. “Lauren broke up with me. She found out about my little secret and she…” I laugh. “You know what she said to me? She asked if you were dead. She thought I was talking to a ghost. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her she was half right.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I wipe my chin with my arm. “I won’t be calling you anymore. And, if you’re even listening to these messages, I hope this is the last time you’ll ever hear my voice. You hear me? I hope I never see you again.” My chest shakes, and I hold my breath, refusing to make a sound. He doesn’t get to hear me cry. Not anymore. “Goodbye, Adam.”

Carter pulls up in front of me, and I drop my head, hanging up the phone. He gets out, and I push up to my feet.

“What the hell happened?” he asks, gesturing to all the trash bags on the ground.

I don’t trust myself to speak right now, so I don’t say anything, opening his trunk and tossing the bags inside. I feel him watching me as he helps.

“Easton?”

I close my eyes briefly before looking at him. Whatever he sees on my face makes his jaw tic.

He slams the trunk shut. “Get in the car.”

I nod, getting in and pulling my seat belt on. Instead of getting in with me, he rolls up his sleeves and starts walking to Lauren’s apartment.

Shit.

I hop out and chase after him. “Carter, it’s not her.” I jog around him and stop in front of him, pushing him back by his chest. “It’s not her, man.”

He frowns at the tears on my face. “Then who? Who were you talking to on the phone when I pulled up? Give me a name.”

I huff a laugh. “I’m not telling you his name.”

“His?” Carter’s brows shoot up. He grins. “Good. I wouldn’t have smacked Lauren, but I can fight a man. Who is he?”

I avert my eyes. Carter is without a doubt the biggest asshole I’ve ever met, but that’s one of the things I love most about him. He’s also one of the greatest friends I’ve ever had. If he loves you, he’s there for you, no matter what. It’s the reason I called him. I knew he’d drop everything for me, no questions asked. Besides all that, he’s one of the only people in my life who won’t judge me for what I’m about to tell him.

“He’s my stepbrother.”

“Kinky. Tell me more.”

We get in his car, and he drives me around while I tell him about me and Adam, about him leaving me, about what I did to Lauren…

I’ve never told a soul about any of it. I’ve been burying it for years, pretending I’m fine, pretending I’m a ray of fucking sunshine. It feels good to drop the mask in front of him.

Once I’m finished, he asks, “What’s his address?”

“Why?”

“I just want to talk to him.”

I laugh. “I don’t have it.”