Willow’s mouth fell open just as mine snapped shut, our tentative camaraderie gone in the blink of an eye. Looking away, Willow’s bottom lip disappeared beneath the top, her expression crumbling.
“Wewerehappy,” she whispered. “At least, we tried to be.”
The pain in her voice straight up slayed me; it ate at me from the inside out, leaving me feeling hollow and empty. Cursing beneath my breath, I ran my hands hastily through my hair.
“I’m sorry,” I ground out. “I don’t know why I said that. It’s been a long fucking…” I paused and swallowed, wondering if Liesel’s impression of me might actually be true.
“Life?” Willow offered hesitantly.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “That works.”
“Logan, listen, about what I said—”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly, waving away whatever she was going to say. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I didn’t even want to think about it. “Like I said, it’s this fucking place.”
“It’s not fine. I was acting completely crazy. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. And you were right—Iwasbeing selfish. You pulled me out of the ravine and you brought me here and you saved me and I-I-I’m sorry, Logan. I’m just reallyfuckingsorry for everything.”
For a moment, I could only stare. Willow didn’t apologize, at least, never quite so easily. And she definitely didn’t agree with me, especially when it came to my less than gracious depictions of her. Shaking off my shock, I fumbled to find a fast reply. “I was just angry—I didn’t mean what I said either.”
“But you were right,” she bit out, her crestfallen expression beginning to tremble, her hands fisting in her lap. “About everything.”
While Willow’s unexpected declaration hung trapped in the growing quiet between us, I was left struggling to get my thoughts in order. An admission like this from Willow would have left me feeling smug once; now, though, I found myself lacking the assurance I once had, and wondering if I’d ever been right. About anything.
“Let’s just forget it happened, alright?” My head was pounding, my temples throbbing, the tendons in my neck feeling as if they might snap from strain.
“But—”
“Willow, stop. It’s over and done with. We can… Fuck, I don’t know—we can start fresh or something.”
“Are you serious?” Willow looked bewildered. “Start fresh? Even after… everything?”
“We’ve both got to live here, right? We don’t need to make it harder than it already is.”
We stared at one another, Willow worrying her bottom lip, me wondering if I wasn’t just talking nonsense. There was so much shit between us—the history that suffocated our every move. We’d known each other forever and disliked one another for twice as long. We were comfortable in those roles, and yet… for whatever reason… those roles didn’t seem to quite fit anymore.
“Okay,” she eventually murmured, sounding every bit as unsure as I was feeling. “Let’s start… fresh.”
