“Allie!” James shouted over the music as he made his way through the crowd, but Isabelle moved between us to stop him from getting any closer.
“Fuck you, James! How dare you? Hasn’t she been through enough?” Isabelle screamed in his face.
“Let’s go, Isabelle,” I said, as I looked him in the eyes and made myself clear without saying a word, that whatever we were, was over. As I turned to leave, he grabbed my arm to stop me.
“Allie, you have to understand,” James begged.
“Understand what, James? That you’ve been fucking my sister this whole time? Is that why Will was so angry at the wedding? Just add this to the rest of the shit Amy has done to me. I’m over it. You can have her.” I shouted over the music.
“This thing with Amy and me has been on and off again for a long time, but it was never anything serious until I saw you with Chris. The night I pulled you off the tracks, I wondered if maybe it could be you and me instead. I really liked you, but then, when I saw the way you were looking at him in the hospital, it was pretty clear that you were still in love with him and that there would never be an ‘us’. But it made me realize that I might already have that with Amy. I think I’m in love with your sister,” he said, then he waited for me to refute him, but I couldn’t. If he wanted to be with my horrible sister, I wasn’t going to get in the way.
“I’m sorry. I have to go,” I said, then I squeezed Isabelle’s hand again, signaling that I wanted to get the hell off this porch.
James shrugged, then went back to Amy, who was calling for him from across the porch.
Once we were inside, Isabelle grabbed my arm to stop me.
“Allie, I’m so sorry,” she said, as I turned to look at her.
“I can’t win, Is. All the cards are always stacked against me. This has been the worst fucking year. Everyone in my life keeps leaving. Nobody wants me,” I said, but suddenly, Isabelle cast her gaze over my shoulder, and her eyes went huge.
“I do.”
I turned around slowly, and there was Chris.
“I’ve never stopped wanting you, Allie. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
I turned back to look at Isabelle in shock, but she was gone. When I looked back at Chris, he was staring at me with a sheepish look on his face, waiting for my reply, but I was speechless. I couldn’t deny it any longer. My heart was throbbing for him.
“You turned Griffin in? Why did you do it?” I needed to know.
“I didn’t do it for you. I did it because it was the right thing to do.”
“Chris?” I said. His eyes looked ready for another rejection. “I’m in too much pain to move, but if I could, I would have grabbed your hair by now and smashed my lips against yours.”
When he realized what I had just said, a look of longing overcame him, and his mouth opened slightly. Not wanting to hurt me, he leaned in slowly, gently took my cheeks in his hands, and pressed his lips to mine as the room stood still.
“How did you find me?” I asked once we came up for air.
“Amy called me. She told me where you would be,” he said, and my jaw dropped. Then I turned around to look for her on the porch, and she shot me a quick smile, then went back to making out with James. I didn’t feel an ounce of jealousy. I was shocked. For once, Amy had tried to make things right.
As the music thumped loudly throughout the house, Chris held me there, lip-locked, until everyone started to count down.
5
4
3
2
1
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Everyone yelled.
As confetti burst all around us, Chris pulled his lips from mine and gazed down at me with those green eyes and long lashes.
“Happy New Year, baby,” he said, then he leaned in to nuzzle his nose against mine.
