Her lips part slightly, but she doesn’t say anything.
We stare at each other, the silence stretching, heavy with unspoken words. My gaze drops to her lips, lingering for a beat too long. I wonder if she’d melt again. Would it feel the same? Better? Worse?
But then the thought twists, bitter at the edges. I don’t want to be some stolen moment, someone she comes to when her boyfriend isn’t enough. If I kiss her again, it won’t be like that. If she’s mine again, she’ll know it. She’llchooseit. And it won’t happen in some fancy club bathroom.
“How did you move on so easily?”
The words are out before I can stop them, raw and unfiltered. They hit the air between us, loud and accusing, and I snap my mouth shut too late to take them back.
Her eyes widen, her cheeks flushing as she stares at me, her mouth opening and closing as if she’s searching for a way to respond.
“I didn’t,” she finally says, her voice trembling. The tablet she’s been clutching so tightly drops to her side as she shakes her head. “You think it was easy for me? Do you have any idea what it felt like? Losing all of you?”
“Youleft us,” I counter, my voice rising, the frustration slipping through. “You walked away?—”
“Because ofyou! Because of all of you!” Her voice cracks, and she takes a step closer, her emotions spilling over. “I didn’t want to lose any of you, but you made me choose! How was that fair? How could you think that asking me to choose between my love and my life was fair? I’ve never been whole?—”
Her chest rises and falls rapidly, her cheeks flushed, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. The sight stuns me, rooting me to the spot. She’s right. I’ve known it almost from the start.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Xayden’s voice cuts through the tension like a sharp blade. He strides toward us, his hands shoved in his pockets, but his gaze flickers between us, keen and assessing.
“No,” Ashlyn says quickly, stepping back and lifting her chin. Her mask is back in place so fast it leaves me reeling. “Not at all.”
Xayden raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Could’ve fooled me,” he says, his tone light but with an edge. He leans against a nearby prop crate, his arms folding casually. “Sounded like a heated little trip down memory lane.”
I glare at him, my jaw tightening, but he doesn’t back down.
Ashlyn exhales, brushing her hair out of her face, her movements brisk and jerky. “It’s nothing,” she says, not looking at me as she lifts the tablet back in front of her chest like a shield.. “Just clearing the air.”
“Right,” Xayden drawls, his gaze lingering on her for a moment longer before shifting to me. “Guess it’s a good thing I showed up, huh?”
The way he says it, half-joking, half-serious, makes my chest tighten. I don’t know if I want to punch him or thank him for defusing the moment. Either way, the tension remains, crackling in the space between us.
Ashlyn’s phone buzzes—or at least, that’s what she claims when she suddenly pulls it out of her pocket, her eyes darting to the screen like it’s her lifeline.
“I should… take this,” she mumbles, her voice tight. Without waiting for a response, she turns on her heel and strides away, the click of her heels echoing in the cavernous stadium.
I watch her go, my chest tightening with every step she takes.
“She’s running,” Xayden says after a beat, his tone lighter than the tension hanging between us.
“Can you blame her?” I mutter, scrubbing a hand down my face. The reality of what just happened—of what I let slip—settles heavy in my chest.
Xayden pushes off the crate and walks over to me, his hands still in his pockets. He tilts his head, studying me like I’m a puzzle he’s almost solved. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
I glare at him. “Don’t start.”
“I’m not starting anything,” he says, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Just pointing out the obvious. You’ve never been able to let her go, West. Not really.”
“I didn’t see you moving on either,” I shoot back.
Xayden just smirks, unfazed. “Oh, I moved on. Plenty of times. Maybe not the healthiest way, but I tried. You?” He shakes his head, his expression softening. “Out of all of us, you never even pretended.”
The words hit harder than they should because he’s right. I didn’t even bother pretending. “What’s the point? She’s always been…” I trail off, clenching my jaw.
“Always been what?” Xayden prompts, his voice quieter now.
