I close my eyes for a second.
I see Tank’s face when he thinks I’m not looking. The way he hovers without suffocating. The way he steps back when I need space. The way he looks at me like I’m already his future.
The same way I looked at him for years.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
And that might be the most honest answer I’ve ever given.
“You said you were the girl who pined after the man who didn’t want you,” Cody says quietly, all the usual sass stripped away. “But that’s not entirely true, is it?”
I frown. “Of course it is. I stood there for years wishing and praying Tank would open his eyes and actually see me.”
Cody shakes his head slowly.
“No. The part about him not wanting you,” he says. “That’s the lie you’ve told yourself, so it hurts less.”
I blink at him.
“Tank has always wanted you,” he continues gently. “He’s loved you for a long time. Even I can see that, and I barely know the man.”
I scoff, but it comes out weak.
“Abby,” he presses, stepping closer, “he didn’t reject you because he didn’t want you. He pushed you away because he wanted you too much.”
Lila nods softly.
“He was scared,” she adds. “Scared of what loving you meant. Scared of failing you. Scared of losing you. So he built excuses. Your innocence. Your brother. The club. Your safety. Anything that made it sound noble instead of terrified.”
My chest tightens.
“That doesn’t make it better,” I whisper.
“No,” Cody agrees. “It doesn’t. It still hurt you. It still left you standing there feeling unwanted.”
He reaches for my hands.
“But don’t rewrite history in a way that shrinks you,” he says firmly. “You weren’t pining after a man who didn’t want you. You were loving a man who was too cowardly to admit he loved you back.”
The words land somewhere deep.
“I begged him,” I say, shame creeping into my voice. “I told him I loved him over and over again.”
“And that takes courage,” Lila says immediately. “Not weakness.”
Cody nods.
“You were brave enough to love out loud,” he says. “He wasn’t. That’s on him. Not you.”
I swallow hard.
“So what?” I whisper. “Now he’s brave, andI’mthe coward?”
Cody’s mouth curves softly.
“No,” he says. “Now you’re cautious. There’s a difference.”
Lila steps closer, brushing her shoulder against mine.
