She mumbles something against me before she blinks awake, and when she sees Levi, she screams and clutches the blanket tighter around her.
“Get out!” she shouts at Levi.
“Maisy,” Levi growls, “get the fuck away from him.”
I push myself up slowly, keeping one hand on the second blanket wrapped around my waist. “Levi, just listen to me. I can explain everything, but you need to calm?—”
“You fucked my sister?” he roars, charging at me before I can finish.
His fist connects square with my jaw, snapping my head to the side. Pain detonates down my neck and I feel the taste of blood fill my mouth. Maisy screams, scrambling to her feet as she tightly clutches her blanket.
My hand flies up to my jaw as a throbbing heat spreads across my face. I keep my shoulders squared, the blanket clutched at my waist with one hand while the other stays lifted between us in case he tries to punch me again.
“I’m not hitting you back,” I rasp through my aching jaw. “You’re my best frie?—”
“Oh shut the hell up, man. You promised me, as mybest friend, that you wouldn’t fuck around with my sister anymore. That you would keep the boundary while staying here with her, but instead you got in her head and got what you wanted.”
“I swear to you, I didn’t take advantage of her.”
“I’m supposed to believe you now when you make a promise?” Levi laughs humourlessly.
“Levi, enough!” Maisy snaps, and he freezes as he looks at her. “You don’t get to walk in here and treat him like that. This isn’t some stupid mistake or Sterling manipulating me into putting out, okay? I wanted this.”
“Maisy, you literally came up to the chalet because you didn’t know what you wanted anymore.” Levi scoffs before turning to look at me. “Sterling, go change and pack your shit. I’ll call you a cab.”
“No!” Maisy shouts, panicked, her voice cracking. “I’m going with you.”
I reach for her hand, brushing my thumb across her knuckles. “Shh,” I murmur softly, keeping my eyes on her even though I can still feel Levi’s glare burning a fucking hole into the side of my face. “It’s okay, Mais. You should stay and talk to your brother after I’m gone. Maybe take some time to decide if being with me is what you really want.”
Her head shakes furiously, strands tumbling across her cheeks. “No, don’t do this. Don’t leave me behi?—”
I cup her face gently. “Hey.” My voice is steady, meant just for her. “I’m not leaving you behind. But I want you to really think about us, without me being here and crowding your space and your senses. And if you still want me after you’ve given yourself that time, you know where to find me.”
She blinks up at me, tears pooling, and I press a gentle kiss to her forehead, breathing her in like I need to memorize the moment before it’s stripped away. Then I pull back, forcing my hands to drop even though it feels like tearing something out of me.
The blanket stays cinched tight around my waist as I turn and walk to the room I’ve been staying in. I dress in silence, then pack my things.
A gift box tumbles out of my pile of clothing, and I open it to find the ornament I never had a chance to give Maisy. I sling my bag over my shoulder, quietly place the giftbox in her room, and don’t look back as I leave.
By the time I step out into the cold air, the cab headlights are already waiting at the edge of the driveway. The driver pops the trunk, and I toss my bag and board inside before sliding into the backseat.
All I can think about the whole drive is Maisy’s tear-filled eyes, and the hollow weight in my chest knowing I betrayed my best friend.
Before long, Saltwater Springs greets me with its easy calm, the storm that chased me out finally gone, and the waves rolling steady against the shore.
Stepping onto the cracked pavement outside my place, I breathe in the salt and the sense of home that settles in my chest at being back here.
I should feel whole again. I should feel like myself.
And yet I feel like there’s still something missing.
Someone.
Maisy.
TWENTY-FOUR
MAISY
