I silently nod. “They did. And that was shitty, Danny, it was. Butyoubroke your promise to me.”
“What? I didn’t?—”
“Open and honest, right? Or was that just a rule formeto follow?” I shake my head, placing my hands on my hips and planting my feet. “This is like freshman year of high school all over again. Football was your number one, no matter the cost. Here you are again, taking me for granted. I told you that our friendship had to be important, too. That I wouldn’t let you treat me like that again. And I meant it.” I look up at the ceiling and run a hand over my curls. “God, I’ve been so stupid.”
“Hey. Don’t say that about yourself,” Danny reprimands in a stern tone. “You’re everything to me.”
I physically hurt all over my body. “Please don’t waste my time trying to convince me that I’m your priority, because you can’t. I’m not, and that’s okay.” Shrugging, my gaze shifts downward, pinning the floor into place. “I actually understand.”
“No, you don’t understand. Youaremy priority, Gracie. I just… This isn’t coming out right and?—”
“If I was your priority, Dan,” I say, my voice hoarse, “we would be having this conversationbeforethe transfer deadline.”I gesture between us and shake my head. “It’s not your decision that shocked me. It’s the fact that you made it without me.”
“Gracie, I?—”
Taking a small step forward, I’m inches away from his face now. I tilt my chin up, my next words tinged with betrayal. “No secrets. That was the agreement.”
“I never meant to keep anything from you. I was just getting everything prepared so I could show you what we could build together in New York. Easton benching me was a wake-up call for me. It proved they never cared about my goals.”
“You transferring without telling me is a wake-up call forme.”
His chin dips to his chest as he frantically tries to explain his actions. “I…I promise I was thinking of us, of our future. My intentions were pure on this, Gracie.”
“I’m not saying this is just your fault. It’s not. If anything, I’m equally to blame here. Maybe I did follow you around too much over the years, mistakenly thinking you’d choose me first.”
“You didn’t.”
“Maybe I was foolish to think you’d include me in all of your decisions regarding football.” When I search his eyes, I look for some sort of sign that will reassure me and come up empty.
“You weren’t, Gracie.”
“Youlied, Danny.”
His breaths are ragged. The anxiety radiating off of his body is nearly palpable. “I didn’t… It wasn’t like that for me. I was just trying so hard to prove to you that this would work, and time got away from me.”
A few tears roll down his cheeks, and my heart aches.
“I know,” I whisper, my tone dipped in empathy.
I can feel what’s coming.Can he feel it, too?
“You know?”
“Yes, I know you would never intentionally hurt me,” I agree softly. “I know you gave this a lot of thought. I know you love me.”
He wipes a tear away with the back of his hand and inhales. “I do love you, more than anything.”
“I know you see our future together. I know you’re good. I know you’re genuine.”
Danny gives me a small, unsure smile.
My next words will irrevocably change us, downgrading our unconditional love to one smothered by unforeseen conditions. Before I break the bones that form the frame of our relationship, I take a beat to indulge myself…to close my eyes and breathe in one more moment of what it’s like to be his.
It feels like a last breath, and I guess, in a way, it is.
“And I know I can’t be with you anymore.”
“Gracie,” he whispers. “You don’t mean it.”
