His expression grows pensive as he stares at the coffee shop a few yards away. “I don’t know… Harper was really mad at you. It didn’t really even make sense to me, but she was kind of…irrational after our dad died.”
My chest grows tight as we step into the coffee shop. “I was too honest with my thoughts. I told her your dad was neglectful, but that was because I didn’t know?—”
He lifts a hand. “You don’t have to explain yourself. He was neglectful. He was high all the time. I feel like he was asleep for half my childhood.”
I nod slowly as a weight pulls at the center of my chest. This isn’t the first time I’ve found myself wishing I could go back in time and shut my damn mouth. Harper didn’t need to hear that her dad neglected her. She already felt his neglect deep in her bones. She needed my warmth and comfort.
“I’ve forgiven him,” Nick says, “but for a long time, it was really hard not to be angry when I never got closure with him. He never admitted he had a problem to any of us.”
I sigh. “I don’t think he got the chance.”
“No, and I know he was in a lot of pain. I think we all have some depression in our family. Especially him and Harper.”
“How is she now?” I ask as we approach the counter.
Nick orders his coffee before turning to me. “To be honest, I never thought she’d hold the grudge against you this long. I know she misses you. I’ve caught her stalking your Instagram more than once.”
Warmth spreads through my chest, which sends a prickle of annoyance over my skin. Harper made her choice and has stuck to it for six years. I couldn’t rekindle the friendship even if I wanted to. Too much damage has been done.
“I wish she’d reached out. If she had years ago, I probably could have forgiven her.”
“I wish she had too,” he says, taking a sip of coffee. “She’s changed since you stopped being friends. She’s more manipulative. It’s like she doesn’t trust anyone anymore, and it makes her cling to the people in her life in this super annoying, unhealthy way. Tristan gets it the most.”
My head jerks in his direction. “He likes it. He’s trying to win her back.”
Nick snorts. “He doesn’t have to win her back. He broke up with her. Everything he told you was a lie. I don’t know why he did it, but…” He shrugs.
My pulse starts to race. Tristan wasn’t lying when he told me he wanted Harper back. I could hear the sincerity in his voice, but then again…
He sounded sincere when he told me his fake confession on our one-on-one date.
Fuck, my head is swimming with his lies. I don’t even know what to believe.
“He’s taking me on a hike tomorrow,” I say. “It’s not for the game. It’s part of our stupid agreement that I’ll help him make Harper jealous.”
“I wish I knew what he was up to,” Nick says as he rests his back against the wall. “But he won’t tell me anything when it comes to you. Ever since you started hanging out just the two of you, he hasn’t said a word to me.”
Probably because it’s too ugly. Tristan has probably hid a lot of his cruel schemes from someone as kind as Nick.
“How should I prepare myself tomorrow?” I say, trying to keep my tone light. “Should I talk about all the guys I want to sleep with so he’ll panic that I haven’t fallen for him yet?”
Nick grins. “How about I arrange a date for you with one of my friends. It could be something super low-key—” he glances around the area “—like coming here for coffee. Tristan won’t like that. Not after he told them all to stay away from you.”
My stomach flips. “That’s a great idea. I’ll tell him I want advice from him on how to be sexy.”
Nick chuckles, and it soothes my frayed nerves. If I tell Tristan I’m nervous about a date, he hopefully won’t pick up on the true source of my anxiety.
Every time I’m with him, I like him more and more. Even knowing everything I know, I still like him. He’s that damn charming.
It’s terrifying.
Tristan
I knock on Nick’s door, opening it when he gives me a half-hearted, “Come in.”
He knows it’s me. Every time I’ve tried to hang out with him lately, he blows me off. He’s making me come to him.
He’s playing games with me because he’s pissed about something, and I wish he’d just man the fuck up and tell me what it is.
