“That was none of your goddamn business!”
“Hey!” His dark eyes went wide. “Calm the fuck down.”
“No. You knew, Henry.” I stepped closer, pointing a finger at him before dropping my hand. “You knew. You knew I’ve been villainizing him for years, thinking he really didn’t give a fuck about me, and you knew that wasn’t it.”
“No, E, I didn’t fucking know that was where your head was at. We”—he gestured sharply between us—“don’t talk about him, remember? You never talk about anything going on with you.”
“Oh, and you do?”
“This isn’t even the fucking point!”
“You don't want to get between us, so stay the fuck out of it.”
“I am! It was one fucking conversation.” He raked his hands through his hair, frustrated. “How the hell was I supposed to know he was actually going to listen to me? He never fucking does—just turns around and does whatever the fuck he wants anyway.”
“That’s exactly what you did, Henry.” My voice softened for half a second, then sharpened again. “And here I thought youhated when Ash did what he thought was best for you without asking.”
Henry’s expression faltered—a flash of hurt he smothered almost immediately. “I can’t believe you just went there,” he said quietly. “You know that wasveryfucking different. Don’t throw that in my face.”
Guilt pricked at the back of my throat—ugly and immediate—but I shoved it down. “Just stay out of it.”
Henry glared. “Fine.”
“Fine!”
“Actually.” He took a breath. “I’ll say one more thing, and then I’ll stay out of it.”
I rolled my eyes and turned into the hallway. “Not listening.”
“Yes, you are.” He stayed planted where he was, like he knew I’d hear it whether I liked it or not. “First, it’s sad that you don’t realize how fucking manipulative it was for Ash to blame what he did on me.”
I stopped walking.
“It’s obvious as fuck, and you should know better by now, but the second he smiles at you, it’s like you’re under a fucking spell. Which brings me to the second thing?—”
“You said it was one?—”
“Well, it’s two!”
I turned halfway back.
“This doesn’t change the fact that he’s with someone else.”
My stomach dipped.
“And this little game you’re playing is fucked up.”
“I’m not playing any game.”
“Yes, you are. You both are. And that is also really fucking obvious. I hope you think about your dad before you go diving headfirst into something you can’t take back.”
That one landed hard, and I went still as it hit me all over again—my mom asking me to keep her affair quiet, my dad’s face when it all came out.
“Low fucking blow.”
Henry lifted his hands in a soft shrug. “Had to be said. And you crossed a line first.”
I breathed out hard through my nose, stepped into the guest room, shutting the door firmly behind me.
