Lara doesn’t blink, just continues to push, waiting for me to break. “After everything her family did…”
Her words land heavily on me.
I haven’t forgotten. I was there, watching it all unfold. Watching Lo fall apart just like the rest of them. But she’s right, there are no easy answers for what this means. Not for her. Not for me. Not for anyone.
“Lo’s not her father, Lara,” I finally mutter. “She’s not the one who did all that. She tried to expose it, remember?”
Lara’s voice lowers, going a little harder, pushing my limits. “Doesn’t matter. People see the name, and that’s enough. They’ll never forget. Lo’s stuck with the legacy of her father’s mistakes. And you… well, you don’t want to get yourself in a mess.”
I grit my teeth, feeling my patience slip. I know exactly what she’s saying, but I’m not about to let her push me into some guilt trip. “I’m not getting into anyone’s mess, Lara. And I don’t need a lecture from you about this town’s history. I was here, remember? I know the story.”
Lara’s eyes narrow slightly, but she’s not done. “Then you know what comes with it. You really think Lo’s going to last long in this town? She can’t outrun that legacy forever, Beck. She’s gonna end up right back where she started.”
I feel a tightening in my chest at her words. “She’s not gonna be here long. I don’t know what kind of mess you think this is, but she’s not sticking around to be the town’s favorite scapegoat.”
It’s more of a defense than I mean it to be, but it comes out that way. I’m trying to convince her. I’m trying to convince myself. But deep down, I can feel something gnawing at the edges of my certainty. A pull, a tug in the pit of my stomach. My gut knows the truth before my brain does.
I wish she wasn’t leaving.
I know it’s selfish, but I wish she’d stay.
How weird is that?
Lara seems to catch the shift in my tone. She tilts her head slightly, sizing me up.
“You sure about that? Because I don’t think Lo’s the kind of person who shows up to say goodbye. You think she’s come back to apologize? To make amends for her family’s mess? You think that’s what she’s here for?”
I know what she’s trying to do—poke at my protective side, get me to see the reality of it all. But I don’t want to go there. Not yet.
“She’s here because she has nowhere else to go. That’s all. She’s not staying.”
“I hope you’re right,” Lara snorts. “Because the last thing this town needs is more Marsh drama.”
I don’t say anything to that, just nod, because she’s not wrong. The last thing anyone needs is more of the same mess.
But it’s hard to ignore that pull. That feeling in my chest that tells me Lo might not be so easy to forget.
Lara takes a step back, her tone softening, though not by much. “Be careful, Beck. I don’t want to see you get hurt again. We both know how much of a mess that can be.”
I feel the pressure, the reminder of what happened last time. The way Lo disappeared without a word, leaving me behind with all the unanswered questions and the wreckage of what we could have been.
“I’m fine,” I mutter, already feeling the walls go up again. “It’s different now.”
Lara’s eyes narrow, and for a moment, she looks like she wants to say more, but she doesn’t. She just gives me a long, assessing look, as if she can see straight through me.
“Just… be careful.”
With that, she turns and walks off, her boots quiet on the gravel as she disappears into the evening.
I take a deep breath, but it doesn’t ease the tightness in my chest.
By the time I get home, the house is quiet. Rosie’s in bed, and the faint hum of a nightlight flickers through the hall. It’s been a long day, but something tells me it isn’t over. Not by a long shot.
I close the door behind me, peeling off my boots and jacket, but before I can make it to the kitchen, I hear Cassie.
“Beck, can we talk?”
I turn to find her leaning against the doorframe to the living room, arms crossed, her expression more serious than I’d expect at this hour.
