She clocks the evasion clear as day. Before she can probe deeper, I seize her face in both hands, rough enough to demand her gaze lock on mine, thumb pressing her jawline just shy of marking her. I lightly caress her bottom lip with my thumb.
"You good?" I ask, already trying too hard to steer this somewhere easier.
"No, Raul. Fucking no." She bats my grip away, heat rising fast.
"What the fuck is up with you?"
"Seriously?" Her voice fractures upward, raw at the seams.
I hold still, walls up solid.
"I love you, Raul. That's the goddamn problem."
My pulse flatlines. Air vanishes. And right then I'm acutely aware that Dad's truck will rumble in any second, shadows trailing him like smoke.
"Can we talk about this later?"
"No. Now."
"Jesus, Liv. What the fuck?"
"I'm over this 'just friends' lie. I want everything. I want all of you."
"Well, I can't fucking give you more. I can't even be your fucking friend."
"What?" She breathes the word out like it hurts.
"You're always in the fucking way. You make everything harder. You're a goddamn distraction I can't afford."
She just stares at me, eyes already glassing over.
Shut up, Raul. Shut up.
"We've never been 'just friends.'" I sneer the words, letting them twist cruel. "You think this is some fairy tale? You're just the girl I fuck when I'm bored. Nothing more."
Her face crumples, but I'm not done. The rage boils over now, spilling out ugly and unstoppable.
"You stick your nose where it doesn't fucking belong. Always pushing, always needing more. Why won't you just leave me the fuck alone? I don't want you here. I don't need you. You don't fucking care. Stop lying to yourself. You're just a piece of shit like everyone else.”
The last words come out in a vicious shout, inches from her face, spit flying.
My heart shatters the second they land.
What the fuck did I just do?
Olivia's eyes flood instant tears, raw hurt carving deep lines into her beautiful face. She doesn't scream back. Doesn't fight. She just stands, trembling, and bolts from the trailer without a word.
Her Bug's tires wail as she fishtails away, taillights vanishing into the dark.
Fuck.
I'm not worthy of her forgiveness. Not worthy of her at all. I just burned the only good thing in my life to ash.
There's only one way to fix this mess now. It'll get me out of her hair and give Diego room to chase his girl. Hopefully he doesn't fuck it up like I just did.
I start drafting the note to my cousin when Dad's truck rumbles into the driveway. His headlights cut through the dusk like knives.
We talk for what feels like hours. Everything laid bare between us. When it ends, he pulls me into a hug. It's brief and firm, the kind that carries more weight than any words.
