I offer him a watery smile. ‘There is no one else, Mase.’
Capturing my hand in his, he pulls it over to his lap. His thumb strokes my knuckles, and I lean back in the seat.
‘The way it all came out ... Zayden must be reeling,’ I say.
‘He was already not coping. This has just made everything explode.’
‘What do we do? Should one of us stay home and try to call him, and the other go out looking for him?’ I suggest, dabbing my fingertips across my skin, trying to absorb the rain droplets.
‘That’s not a bad idea. Do you want to stay home? So you can have a shower and warm yourself up? I’ll go check a few spots he might’ve gone to.’
‘Sounds good.’
‘We need to talk more about this,’ Mason says. ‘But later, when we’re at home, where it’s less chaotic.’
I nod, agreeing with that.
Before Mason even fires up the engine, my heart stutters to a stop when Zayden appears in the car park, heading towards his car. His white t-shirt is completely soaked through and sticking to his skin. I rush out of the car, my feet sliding across the loose gravel. My eyes flash towards the busy road beside us, and back to him, where his keys are clutched in his palm.
‘Zayden!’ I cry out, relieved that he’s here and he’s okay. When he doesn’t react, I slow my steps and come to a complete halt in front of him. ‘Zayden ... I understand you’re feeling really hurt right now, and confused, and betrayed, and a lot more, probably, but please, I need you to hear us out and listen.’
‘Zay ...’ Mason says quietly when my brother doesn’t move or acknowledge that either of us are here, or what I just said.
Zayden’s chin jerks up, and his cool eyes settle on Mason. ‘I want your shit gone,’ he says.
I recoil, as if his words have hit me.
A muscle in Mason’s cheek jumps, and he nods, eyes shining with regret and acceptance of what the situation has come to. ‘Okay.’
‘What?’ I exclaim, reaching for Mason’s arm. ‘No.’ I turn to face Zayden, staring at him pleadingly. ‘I promise you, Dylan made this out to be a lot worse than it is. Please, please just hear us out before you make any hasty decisions.’
‘So you haven’t been lying to my face for years about your feelings for one another?’ he asks, and the calmness in his tone makes a prickle of wariness run through me.
‘We tried to fight our feelings out of respect for you.’
Zayden smiles, but it’s a smile I’ve never seen on his face before. Cold, empty and harsh. It doesn’t suit him at all. ‘Right. So you didn’t ever kiss, then? You didn’t sleep together the night of your eighteenth birthday? He didn’t leave because of it?’
Swallowing, I try my best to get the words out, to plead with him, but nothing escapes my throat – because he is right. We lied to him, and it was wrong, and we only have ourselves to blame for it. ‘I’m so sorry, Zayden,’ I whisper miserably, peering at him through sodden lashes. I don’t know how I can make any of this better. Sorry just isn’tenough.
‘I’ve always admired our great relationship, Anya. We’ve always been closer than most siblings. I thought we loved and respected each other enough to be able to discuss something like this. I know I’ve been unreasonable at times when it comes to my protectiveness over you, but I have good fucking reason,’ he snaps, gesturing to Mason. ‘Look what he did to you! This is why I didn’t trust him to be with you. You deserve someone who wouldn’t do what he did!’
I am so sick of crying. I don’t know how I possibly have any tears left at this point, but they keep streaming down my cheeks rapidly.
‘Andyou,’ Zayden says, jabbing his finger in the air, aiming at Mason. ‘We would quite literally die for each other, and there aren’t many people who I can say that about. You’re not just my best friend; you’re mybrother, and I trusted you with my life. I trusted you withher. How could you do that to her? And never, not once, speak to me about any of it?’
In two strides, Zayden is in front of Mason. He is trembling, and for a moment, I’m scared of what he might do, but he steps back just as fast, shaking his head, his hands flexing at his sides as he grapples with his anger. My brother is one to throw his fists and think about the consequences later, but he loves and respects Mason too much, and after everything he’s been through with his dad, Zayden wouldneverlay a hand on him.
The sound of footsteps approaching makes me look up. Shadow covers almost every inch of Dylan as he steps towards us, still looking rather pleased with himself at all the drama he caused tonight.
‘Don’t mind me,’ he says, smirking. ‘Just on my way out.’
‘What the hell is your problem?’ Zayden snarls, stalking towards Dylan, getting almost nose-to-nose with him. ‘Why did you do all this? Does it really make you feel better? Huh? Does it make you feel good?’ Zayden’s cheeks redden, his hands shaking violently. ‘You never deserved a moment of her time.’
‘Zay!’ Mason warns, stepping towards him. ‘Don’t do this. Be better than him.’ Zayden glares at Mason. ‘You go on about dangerous men, but you’re being one right now.’
My brother jerks back at Mason’s words, as if he hadn’t realised how close he was to Dylan just now.
‘I’m done with all this,’ Zayden snarls, stalking towards his car and yanking the door open. He glares over his shoulder at us, swaying, looking far from sober.
