Page 41 of All This Time (Blossom Peak #1)

“You’re damn right about that.” He reaches forward and pinches my ribs, making me squeal. “Spill, Laney.”

With a shaky hand, I reach up and brush his hair from his face, lowering my voice. “I can’t believe it’s not obvious to you.”

His eyes bounce between mine. “Use your words, Laney.”

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, thankful for the liquid courage I consumed earlier, I whisper, “After all these years…you honestly haven’t noticed how I look at you?”

His smile falters and, for a moment, I regret it all—I must have misread this.

Licking my lips, I prepare to bolt, but when his hand cups the side of my face, I freeze. A pinch in his brow forms, and then something shifts in his gaze. Determination? Permission?

Whatever it is, his spine straightens from his newfound confidence, and then he whispers, “Fuck, Laney. I—”

“Fletcher!” A guy I don’t recognize calls out from the other side of the house. “Come on! We need you for beer pong!”

He glances over his shoulder and takes a step back from me. “I’ll, uh, be right there!” he calls back.

Disappointment races through me as he creates even more distance between us, brushing his hand through his hair and blowing out a breath. “Christ,” he mutters before meeting my eyes again, so many thoughts swirling in his.

But I cut him off before he can make this more awkward. “It’s fine. Go.”

His brows draw together again. “Laney…”

Smiling, I shrug. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing…”

“Fletcher!” The guy calls again.

And before Fletcher can say another word, I walk away, willing my heart to calm down as my pulse hammers relentlessly.

“Laney!” he calls after me, but I don’t turn around. I need space, I need time to deal with his reaction because it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but it wasn’t a rejection either.

When I enter the kitchen again, I find Dilynne pouring herself another drink. “Hey, where have you been?” she asks me as I bump my hip with hers.

I get as close to her as I can before whispering, “I was talking to Fletcher.”

Her eyes widen. “And? Did you do it? Did you tell him—”

“Shhh!” I hiss, cutting her off. “And sort of?” I say, even though it comes out more as a question.

“How do you not know if you told him how you feel about him?”

Sighing, I bury my head in my hands. “I told him that I can’t believe he hasn’t seen how I look at him, and then his face fell.”

Dilynne winces. “Yikes.”

“Yeah, and then before he could actually respond, someone called for him to play beer pong, so I left and told him not to worry about what I said.”

She shoves my shoulder when I lift my head. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“What?”

“This was your opportunity, Laney. All these years you’ve wanted this guy, and you just walked away from him?”

“Well, he let me.”

“Yeah, probably because he was a little shocked.”

My brow furrows. “I’m confused. You’re the one who thought I was crazy for liking him.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to get what you want.” Her face softens. “You’re my best friend and you have been pining after him for so long, I wanted to see you get your happy ending.” She shrugs. “Maybe it’s the secret romantic in me.”

I blink. “You? A romantic? Has the alcohol changed you already?”

She rolls her eyes. “Ha. Ha. Don’t tell anyone, okay? I need to protect my image.”

I mimic zipping my lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”

She winks at me before finishing making her drink. When she’s done, she spins around to face me again. “Okay, so you need to go find him.”

“I don’t know…”

“I do know. Don’t let tonight end without making your intentions clear, okay? Find him at a point when he’s alone and be crystal clear this time.” She pushes me in the chest.

“What was that for?”

“Puff out your chest. Stand up straight. Be the badass Laney Hart that I know.”

I square my shoulders and nod. “Okay. You’re right.”

“I’m always right.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find a guy to talk about cars with because none of these girls are ever on my level about that.”

“Hey. I’m not on that level either…”

“No, but you’re grandfathered in. We’ve been friends for so long that you knowing anything about cars is irrelevant now.”

I nod. “Okay. Good to know I’m safe.”

Dilynne walks off, leaving me alone in the kitchen as people mill around me. The music coming out of the surround sound is making the walls rattle, couples are making out all over the couch or dancing in the living room, and more noise is coming from outside, so I decide to check out that scene.

As I enter the backyard, I see Fletcher high-fiving his teammate in his game of beer pong.

I decide to stand off to the side and observe, but he catches me watching and narrows his eyes at me.

Not sure what that means, but once he realizes where I am, his eyes drift to me between every play of the game.

I wish I knew what he was thinking. I wish I had any inclination of what his reaction was to what I shared with him. But then part of me doesn’t want to know at all because what if that glare means he’s mad at me for putting him in this position in the first place?

I turn around and go back into the house to find Dilynne again, standing next to her in silence as she talks about transmissions with some guy around Rhonan’s age that I’ve seen around town a time or two.

After about twenty minutes, I see Fletcher walk inside, making eye contact with me as he does.

He watches me for a few seconds before turning down the hallway that leads to my parents’ room, which I know for a fact is also locked.

There are other rooms back there too, though, so maybe he’s looking for a place to get away from everyone.

Or… Maybe he wants me to follow him?

Not sure what to think, I decide the risk is worth taking and head in the same direction he went.

I shake out my nerves as I wander down the hall and notice one of the bathrooms has a light on and I don’t see Fletcher anywhere, so I assume he’s inside.

I knock gently but don’t hear anything over the music, so I check the knob and find it unlocked.

Bracing myself for the conversation we’re about to have, I reach for the handle to the door and turn, pushing the door open. But nothing could have prepared me for what I see.

Fletcher is leaning against the wall furthest from the door, his hands braced behind him for support, and a girl is kneeling in front of him, her hands on his thighs.

Oh my God. Is she…

It doesn’t take me long to figure out what I just walked in on, and when it does, my heart slices in two.

Before they notice me, I slam the door shut and run down the hallway, as far away from that scene as I can get. But running won’t erase it from my mind. I don’t think anything ever will.

Sobs wrack my body as I push my way through the house to my room, pulling my key from my pocket and unlocking my door, and locking it behind me before falling onto my bed and crying myself to sleep.

Looks like I know where I stand with Fletcher Adams now, and it’s nowhere near where I wanted to be.

***

Pounding wakes me from a deep sleep. I lift my head and notice it’s just after four in the morning. The inside of the house sounds quiet, so I’m guessing the party died down.

Pushing myself out of bed, I glance at my reflection in my mirror. Mascara streaks paint my face from all my crying, my hair looks like a rat tried to make a nest in it, and I still have on the same clothes since I never bothered to change before I passed out.

The pounding continues, and I make my way to my bedroom door. When I open it, I find my brother on the other side, eyes bloodshot and tears streaming down his face.

“Rhonan? What’s wrong?”

He stumbles into my room, pulling me into his chest. “Laney…”

“You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

It takes him a few moments to gather himself before he lifts his head and meets my eyes. “It’s Mom. Dad just called me, and…”

Dread fills my body. “What? What happened?”

“She—she’s gone, Laney. Mom died.”

***

“Thank you for coming,” I say for the hundredth time as another person from our town comes up to me and Rhonan, offering their condolences—like those words are going to take away the pain from living the rest of our lives without our mom.

It’s been one week, and I already feel like the pain in my chest is permanent.

“How long do we have to let these people hang out in the house?” Rhonan mutters beside me, his voice low.

“I don’t know. I’ve never held a wake before.” My eyes scour the room, looking for our dad, but I don’t see him anywhere. I wonder if he’s gone to hide, which is exactly what I feel like doing right now.

Rhonan closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I feel like I’m living in a nightmare.”

“You and me both. But this is as real as it gets. Mom isn’t coming back…” I choke back the emotion threatening to spill over, but Rhonan pulls me into his chest before I fall to the ground.

“I know, Laney. Fuck. I know.” He rests his chin on top of my head.

We hold each other for a few minutes before Elliot walks up to us. “You guys doing okay?” he asks as Rhonan releases me and I wipe under my eyes.

“I don’t even know how to answer that right now,” my brother replies.

“I’m so fucking sorry, you guys. I know I keep saying it, but…”

Rhonan places his hand on Elliot’s shoulder. “I know. Thanks, man.”

“Have you decided what to do about school yet?” Elliot asks my brother.

Rhonan’s eyes drift to me for a second then back to his friend. “Yeah. I’m not going back.”

“What?” I practically shout and then lower my voice once I realize I’ve drawn people’s attention. “When did you plan on telling me this?”

Rhonan clenches his teeth. “We can talk about this later.”

“No, we can talk about this now. You can’t quit school.”

He steps closer to me. “Yes, I can, and I am.”

I open my mouth to argue with him, but Fletcher walks up to the three of us, and my words get caught in my throat.

“Hey, man,” he says to Rhonan. “You hanging in there?”

“The best I can, man.”

Fletcher’s eyes move over to me. “How are you doing?”

But before I can reply, Brittany comes up behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “There you are. I was wondering where you ran off to.”

He doesn’t look back at her, his eyes still trained on me. But seeing them together, hearing the ownership in her voice makes the crack in my heart completely split in two.

I divert my gaze from his. “Fine.” I think that’s only the fifth word I’ve said to Fletcher since that night, but right now, it’s all I can muster without the threat of getting sick on the floor in front of everyone.

When Fletcher woke up and found me and Rhonan crying on the couch, holding each other, he instantly knew something was wrong, and after crying all night over him, I was surprised that my body still had any tears to spare.

But losing my mom was a pain I was not ready to face at the age of eighteen, especially on top of the heartbreak that the man standing in front of me was responsible for.

Rhonan and I left for Carrington Cove later that day, and when we were reunited with our dad, the three of us broke apart together. What was supposed to be a trip away ended with our mom dying from a brain aneurysm—something that no one could have predicted.

After losing her, though, the thing with Fletcher doesn’t matter now. Nothing does, as far as I’m concerned. Without my mom here, life has lost meaning. Without my mom here to help me heal from heartbreak, it’s easier to focus on anger.

But seeing the pain in Fletcher’s eyes is almost too much to bear, especially because I know how much he loves our parents and appreciated our mother.

“Fuck. I just wish these people would leave,” Rhonan mumbles to the boys.

Elliot and Fletcher share a look. “Say the word and we’ll clear them out,” Elliot declares.

“Seriously?”

Fletcher nods. “Yeah. If you two aren’t feeling up to this, you don’t have to smile and act like you want to talk. If I were you, I would want to be alone too.”

Rhonan looks at me for approval, which I give him with one nod. “I just want to be alone, Rhonan. I don’t know where Dad is, but he’d probably feel the same.”

He turns to his friends. “We’ll be in the office,” he tells Elliot and Fletcher before grabbing my hand and pulling me down the hallway.

When we enter, we find our father crying at his desk.

And so we lock ourselves in my parents’ office and break apart in solitude, where I cry myself to sleep with my head in my brother’s lap and pray that I wake up from this nightmare, even though I know that won’t happen.