“I don’t—” His jaw locks. “I don’t want you to be taken advantage of, Lulu. He kept you asecret.”
“Then maybe don’t make it impossible for us to tell you the truth,” I shoot back. “You drew the line in the sand, Eli. ‘Anyone but my sister.’ You turned it into a rule before you even asked me what I wanted.”
He stares at me, breathing hard. “I didn’t draw a line because I don’t trustyou. I drew it because if something went wrong, I’d have to choose.”
Silence punches the room flat.
“And here’s the thing, Tully.” I flinch at his use of my childhood nickname. “It will always be you.Always.So now I’m in a position where I have to play with a guy I used to trust, who called you a mistake to your face.”
Behind me, Tamara’s voice softens. “He was concussed, Eli.”
“I know what I heard,” he grinds out.
“Do you?” Zoe asks. “Because I heard your sister say she loved him, and I heard him say it back. And then when you stormed in, he called it a mistake, and you decided what it meant before either of them could breathe.”
He blinks, and the fight leaks out of him by a couple of degrees. “I don’t want her hurt.”
“Newsflash,” I say, tears burning. “I already am.”
For a second his face falls, the anger slipping enough to show the fear under it. He’s just my brother again, the kid who used to check the locks twice because storms scared me.
“Chase is with him,” he offers. “He’s fine.”
“I know,” I whisper. “Zoe told me. What about Reid?”
Eli rubs his forehead. “They sedated him and he’s having scans of his knee. They won’t know how bad till the MRI comes back. For now they’re treating it like it could be serious.”
My gut twists low. “That sounds bad.”
“I don’t wanna think about it right now.”
“Okay,” I say softly. “One thing at a time.”
He nods once, then stares at the floor. “I shouldn’t have come down that hard.”
“No,” I agree.
There’s a long beat, and I watch Tamara’s hand find his. He squeezes it like it’s the only thing keeping him tethered, then tries again, softer this time.
“If this is real—if it’s not a fling or some…phaseor—”
“It’s real,” I say, without hesitation.
His eyes slowly close. When he opens them, he looks a decade older. “Then you both should’ve trusted me enough to say it.”
“We were going to,” I say. “After the showcase.”
Something pained moves across his face. “Then prove it. After tomorrow, tell me again. No more hiding.”
“Okay.” I nod. “After tomorrow.”
He shifts, embarrassed and fierce at once. “I can’t look at him tonight.” Another beat. “And I can’t look at you when you’re wearing his hoodie.”
I glance down at the charcoal fleece I’m drowning in, and fold my arms across it, heat crawling up my neck.
Eli blows out a breath, then lets Tamara tug him toward the door as she mouths a silent apology. On the threshold he looks back, torn between fury and love. “Get some sleep, Lu.”
“You too,” I manage.
