Leah Mitchell isn't the same shy, poor girl anymore. Now a college student, she is enjoying her life in the city and the freedom she longed for. She works hard and knows her worth. She has it all, but her heart aches for the only person from her pas...
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I continue standing in the rain long after Leah has left. I watched her follow Nash, shouting his name until he stopped walking and let her catch up with him.
Do I still have a chance? Did I make things worse?
Shivering, I bury my hands in the pockets of my leather jacket and stroll home, hoping Sean is there and talking to him will obliterate the gloomy thoughts swirling in my brain.
As soon as I'm back at our place, I ditch my jacket and shoes and enter the kitchen. Sean is next to the fridge. His eyes rake over me when he sees me in the doorway.
"Want one?" he asks, pointing to a bottle of beer he's holding.
"Do we have anything stronger?"
Sean's gaze flits to my face. He must read the distress on it because he nods and opens a kitchen cabinet to grab a bottle of Jack I didn't even know we had.
He puts his unopened beer back in the fridge and gets two tumblers. "Ice?"
I shake my head.
Frowning slightly, Sean pours the whiskey into two glasses and gives me mine. I thank him with a nod and drag my feet to the living room, where I slump into the couch and take a sip from the glass.
"So, you saw her," Sean says, sitting next to me.
"Yeah. And then Nash saw us together."
"Oh shit," Sean mutters under his breath.
A long exhalation leaves my mouth. "I don't know how much he heard, but it was enough for him to know we have a history. He probably knows we kissed, too. Leah went after him, and I..." My eyes burn, and I squeeze them shut. "I don't know if I really pushed her away this time."
"He would've found out, regardless," Sean says. "Guys talk. Someone would see something sooner or later. He deserves better, Brian, and you know it. I'm sure Nash is hurt, but it's good that thing between them is over."
"Is it, though? She went after him. Maybe they will talk and—"
Sean shakes his head, not letting me continue. "Not gonna happen. Nash has trust issues; it's something about his parents. His mother cheated on his father or some shit like that. He'd never be with a girl who did that to him."
"It's not her fault," I defend Leah. "It's on me. And I don't know what to do."
Sean heaves out a sigh. "I suck at giving advice, but you should probably talk to Nash and explain your side of the story. It might hurt him less if he knows the truth."
I think about the pain on Nash's face, and my heart dips. I didn't want him to find out like that. It was never my intention.
"If he wants to listen," I say, looking into the amber liquid in my glass.
"He might not want to," Sean says, "but you have to at least try."
***
The following afternoon, I am waiting for Nash outside the gym. I know his training schedule because we worked out together a couple of times.
