Page 16 of One Love

“Devin,” Brielle says, taking my hand, “that’s how Sebastian’s been feeling for months. His reputation has been dragged through the mud, but he’s a guy and it isn’t as bad for him. But people have still called him a joke. You’ve seen some of the things said about him online. He understands how you feel, but you’re dismissing what he’s going through now that it’s about you too, while he’s trying to figure out how to protect you from the exact same thing he’s been through.”

Her words make sense. I hadn’t thought about how Sebastian has been targeted by the person much longer than I have. “I’m not used to thinking about anyone but myself.”

She clasps my hand tightly between hers. “You have to make a choice, babe. If you love him, you need to either let him in or let him go. This isn’t fair to either of you. From where I’m sitting, while I can understand how scared you are, I think you need to take a chance on him. I love you, but since you’ve started seeing him, you’ve become the best version of you. He makes you happy. The happiest I’ve ever seen. He loves you. I’ve known that since day one. You need to work with him, not against him.

“He’s really mad at me, Bri.”

“Give him time,” she suggests. “Maybe also tell him you love him and you’re sorry.”

“I don’t know if that will fix anything now.”

She shrugs. “You won’t know until you try.”

Try.Brielle’s words ring inside my head. I’ve heard that word a million times in the past two months.

Try this.

Try that.

Maybe everyone is right.

Maybe I need to try.