“Amelie, please?—”
“No. You were right last time. This...us...it isn’t right. It isn’t meant to be like this.”
“But I love you.”
“And I love you. I always will but?—”
“No. No buts. Listen, come home. I’ll go to the police and tell them it was me. We can be together if you wait until I’m out of prison. Wait for me, baby girl. Be mine.”
“I can’t do that, Smalls.” I sigh at the painful twist in my heart. He doesn’t mean it. I have no idea what’s triggered this desperation in him, but I know it’s not his true feelings talking. “It’s not that kind of love. And I can’t let you throw your life away for me, not when I can’t be there waiting for you. I can’t love you like that. Like you deserve.”
“But you can lovehimlike that?”
I nod.
“And the others?”
“Smalls—”
“How? How Amelie!? How can you love four of them but not have any room for me?!”
“You know you’re not good at sharing,” I say softly, a sad smile tugging at my lips. How can I make this better? How do I ease his pain?
“For you I could.”
“You’d hate it. I’d make you miserable and I can’t do that.”
“You should give me a chance. It’s up to me to decide if I want to?—”
“It’s up to me too. And I just…” I take a deep breath, aware that I’m about to rip his heart out. But knowing that ultimately, I have to. “I just don’t feel that way about you.”
He hisses in pain, his face falling. Climbing out of my bed, he storms for the door. He yanks it open and stares at me coldly for a moment.
“You’re a real piece of work, Amelie.”
The door slams shut and my heart thunders in my chest. He doesn’t mean it. He doesn’t love me. He…Tears stream down my face. This isnothow I saw this vacation going at all.
I wait for Smalls to come back and say he didn’t mean it, that he was just having a moment, but it doesn’t happen. He finally said all the things I’ve always wanted to hear but now things have changed. The Knox brothers have wormed their way into my heart and each one makes me feel things I never knew I could feel. It made me realise that what I felt for Smalls was puppy love; he protected me and made me feel safe, and I clung to that for a long time.
My bedroom door swings open and for a split second I think it’s going to be Smalls but Kalen comes barrelling into the room and jumps onto the bed, a huge smile plastered on his face.
“Guess what?!” he asks. I shake my head. Something has made him super happy this morning, so he certainly hasn’t run into Smalls.
“You’re mad and I’m not,” I throw back. He looks at me like I have lost my mind.
“No, Chelsea has changed our plans for today. She has borrowed someone named Linda’s minivan.” I try to keep up with how fast he is talking. “And we are all going to the zoo! Can you believe it?! They have kangaroos at the zoo! And you know how disappointed I was when I found out you don’t keep them as pets!”
I laugh at his enthusiasm. We have been to Australia Zoo a million times, Chelsea loves it. I think she secretly had a crush on Steve Irwin growing up.
“We have to meet downstairs in half an hour, so get dressed.” With that he kisses my lips and pushes himself up on the bed and races back downstairs.
Getting up, I check my phone. I have a few texts from Baxter, a couple from Elsie, Slate and Sawyer. One from Onyx catches my eye.
Onyx
I miss you. When are you coming back?
I hit call and walk over to my door and close it. Kalen has said since I’m here on holiday I need to not keep checking up on Onyx, but he needs me.
