Page 57 of Unwritten Rules (The Sunburnt Hearts #1)

“Why?” Dad repeats, heated eyes finding mine.

“Because he’s not good for you, Tate! I’ve heard the rumours about him and how he treats women.

” He scoffs, shaking his head. “I don’t want him to hurt you.

The one person I care most about. Not like how I—” Dad runs a hand down the side of his face, scratching at the stubble on his jaw.

“A guy like him doesn’t deserve a woman like you. ”

A guy like him.

What does that mean?

If he’s referring to the women Sinnett has been with in the past, or his complicated relationship with Zoe, then that’s not a fair assessment of the man standing in this room.

Dad only knows a fraction of the man Sinnett is.

He sees the side of him that is an unstoppable force on the field, doing everything he can to help his team out there, and he’s heard about the side of him who was lost and finding ways to cope with the overwhelming pressure thrust upon his shoulders, ensuring he’s the best version of himself for the club and his parents.

But Dad hasn’t met the Sinnett I know. The man who saved me from being drugged in a club.

The man who walked me home because he couldn’t stomach the idea of me being on the streets alone.

The man who listens to music with me and sits through every single one of my random questions as they pop into my head.

The same man who lights up my vision with his smile, and forces the butterflies in my stomach to go haywire.

Sinnett is far from the man Dad thinks he knows. I just wish he would allow me to show him.

“He’s not like that, Dad,” I tell him, voice barely above a whisper. I’m afraid if I raise my voice even the slightest octave, the tears I’m holding back will burst forward. “You don’t know him.”

“I know him well enough to know he’s not good enough for you, Tate,” Dad says, chest puffing out. “This ends. Right here, right now.”

I try and swallow around the lump forming in my throat, lungs burning for air. Eyes flicking to Sinnett, I see he’s already watching me. Pain seeps into his face, ocean eyes calling to me. His biceps are tense, arms folded over his chest.

It pains me that I can’t reach for him or turn back time to yesterday when we watched the sun sink below the horizon, getting lost in the crashing waves and solace of being together.

“Dad, please don’t do this.” I step forward, hoping he can see the pain in my face. How much this is fucking hurting me. Us . “Please.”

“My hands are tied, Tatum.” Dad holds his hands in the air as if to prove his point. “Make your choice, Sinnett. If you care about this club as much as you claim, then you’ll know what to do.”

And there it is. The choice I knew would eventually be thrust upon us, namely Sinnett.

It’s me or the club.

My heart sinks when my eyes clash with Sinnett.

They’re filled with hurt and indecision, mirroring my own.

It hurts me that my father would put me in a situation like this, knowing he was in a similar position when he was my age and met Mum.

If she were here, I have no doubt she would talk him off the edge and knock some sense into him.

But she’s not. And the reminder is painful.

“Phil, I?—”

I cut Sinnett off by taking another step forward, pulse so erratic I can hardly breathe. “I quit, Dad.”

Dad’s eyes widen as he stares down at me.

“Tate, no,” Sinnett pleads, reaching for me. “You can’t do this.”

“It’s already done,” I squeeze out, bottom lip trembling as I lock eyes with him. The man who crashed into my life like a bulldozer and has been slowly picking up the pieces ever since. “I’m sorry, Sin. But I can’t let you throw your career away for me.”

Dad exhales a sharp breath. “Tatum… I don’t want you to throw your career away.”

I fold my arms over my chest, anger seeping into my veins. “You didn’t give me much of a choice.”

He swallows hard, features like stone. Dad turns to Sinnett and gestures toward the door behind him. “You better get your ass into the sheds. Kickoff is in ten minutes.”

Sinnett doesn’t move, eyes drilling holes into the side of my face.

I can’t bear to look at him, because if I do, the tears I’m holding back will break free.

This isn’t just me quitting my job. It’s us having to say goodbye to the secret moments we shared in his car, the music we bonded over and the silent support we gave each other to keep pushing through.

Now that Dad knows about us, he’ll do everything in his power to keep us apart if we try to see each other in secret.

It won’t be the same as before today when we could be ourselves in private. But everything has changed now.

This is what was always supposed to happen, but it doesn’t hurt any less now.

I drag my bottom lip between my teeth, focusing on my breathing instead of looking over at Sinnett.

He opens his mouth to protest, but snaps it shut before words slip out.

When he realises what I’m doing, he grunts and shoves his hand through his hair.

I catch a glimpse of the back of his head as he staunches toward the closed door, flinging it open with such force my hair flies over my shoulder.

When he’s out of sight, tears burn my cheeks as they slide down.

Just like that, he’s gone—taking with him a piece of my heart.

I’m doing this for him.

“Tatum,” Dad murmurs, reaching for me. “Please don’t?—”

“Why would you do that?” I cry, bottom lip trembling. “Why, Dad?”

Dad’s lips thin into a straight line. “You know why, Tate. I didn’t put the rule in place to be an asshole.

It was for your own good, trust me. Guys like him—” He runs a hand down the side of his face, eyes darting away from me.

“They can’t be trusted. And I didn’t want to see you hurt the way you are now. ”

“That was your doing,” I snap. “Everything was fine. We were fine.”

Dad huffs, eyes meeting mine again. “And you’ll thank me down the line when you realise you were better off without him.

” He exhales a sharp breath. “You’re not to see him again, Tate.

I know you quit your job, which we’ll talk about at home, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want you anywhere near him. ”

I open my mouth to argue, but the words die on my tongue, along with the energy I had moments ago. I’m at a loss for what I should do. At this moment, I don’t have the strength to think it through. I just want to be alone.

“I’m going home,” I rasp out, wrapping my arms around my waist. I can still smell him embedded into the leather fabric, the last semblance of him I have now. “I can’t do this.”

“Tatum—”

I rush past my dad, not stopping until the stadium is behind me and I’m sitting in the driver’s seat of my car, staring ahead.

The roar of the crowd is ear-splitting as the game gets ready to kick off.

I can’t begin to imagine the pressure Sinnett is under right now after what just transpired.

It pains me that I can’t help him through this, like I have so many times before when he’s struggling with his emotions.

My bottom lip trembles as I reach for my phone. The air from my lungs dissipates upon seeing the text from him on the screen, time stamped two minutes ago, moments before the team stepped into the tunnel.

SIN: If you want to know how I truly feel about you, listen to the playlist I made. It speaks volumes that I can’t right now.

The playlist .

My hands tremble as I scroll to the playlist saved in my phone, titled ‘Songs for Tate’.

Thumb hovering over the screen, I weigh my options.

If I listen to the songs, I’ll be breaking my heart further, knowing I can no longer have Sinnett.

But if I don’t, I’ll never know how he truly feels about me.

Is that something I’m willing to walk away from?

Exhaling a sharp breath, I click on the playlist and close my eyes.

Listening to these songs will only bring with them more heartache, but I know I’ll regret it if I don’t. Call it closure, but I need to hear the words Sinnett hasn’t been able to tell me himself.

The opening guitar riff of “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tears burst from my eyes in waves, and I’m unable to stifle the sob that tears through me.

Sinnett found meaning in the first song I ever played for him. It’s me .

And now, when I listen to this song, all I’m going to think about is that from the very beginning, it was inevitable we would end this way, despite how right it feels when we’re together.

This must be some sick joke fate is playing on us.

And now I’m forced to return to a life before Sinnett with no say in the matter.

No matter what way I look at it, he’ll have to give up something that makes him happy.

I would rather be in the firing line than the career he’s worked tirelessly to achieve—no matter how much it hurts to step back.