Page 362 of Keep My Heart


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His shoulders relax as he lowers and shakes his head in disbelief. “That’swhy you cut me out of your life? You overheard Drew and me.”

“What was I supposed to do? I was practically in love with you, and you’d just confessed your true feelings for me. I felt like an idiot.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Say anything?” I repeat. “I was humiliated! Here I was, coming to find you so I could thank you for the gift when I hear you say it was all out of pity. After that it was as if you purposely flaunted every girl you were with, just to prove your point and dig the knife deeper.” My heart pumps louder in my chest, adrenaline rushing through my veins, as I relive the memories. “Everything I thought I’d felt between us was shattered. I was devastated.”

He rubs his fingers over the stubble that runs the length of his jaw. His lips are in a firm line, and as much as I’m trying to read him, nothing prepares me for what he says next.

“Youwere devastated?” His deep tone takes me off guard, his eyes narrowing in on me. “I was fucking wrecked, Viola. You ruined me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I never pitied you, Viola.Ever. You’re the main reason I was over all the damn time. How didn’t you see that?”

“Well, the flock of girls around you didn’t really give me that impression.”

“You should’ve known me better than that to know I’d never mean those words. Drew and a few other guys kept cracking jokes about you and were giving me shit for hanging out with you all the time, and I just wanted to shut them up. Drew teased you behind your back every chance he could and so I said the only thing I could think of to shut him up.”

“They sounded real to me,” I say, not quite sure how I feel about his confession.

“So, after everything we’d been through, it was just that easy to drop me?” he asks, hurt evident in his tone. “Was that it?”

“Are you kidding me right now? I cried myself to sleep for months! I missed you so goddamn much, all while hating your guts. My emotions were all over the place, and then when I started high school, you were all my friends talked about. It was torture.”

“I tried to get your attention, Viola,” he growls, his lips dangerously close. “You ignored me anytime I tried to talk to you. You walked away as if I’d meant nothing to you at all. You looked at me as if I was the most disgusting person in the world. Thatdestroyedme.”

His words hit me like a brick, and I can’t breathe. “I didn’t want to hear your excuses after that.”

“Was our friendship not strong enough for you to even consider giving me the opportunity to make things right again?” His jaw tightens, and I can see the vein in his throat bulging.

“I already felt like a pathetic loser. I wasn’t about to confront you about what I overheard. I didn’t want to be anyone’s pity friend.”

He shakes his head, pinching the back of his neck. “How didn’t you see, Viola? How didn’t you see how special you were to me?” He shifts his body, fidgeting as he continues, “You were the only person who ever understood me.” He inhales a deep breath. “I never even told Drew about my father. You were the only one I ever told.”

My mouth falls open at his honesty, and I’m lost in his words. My head is spinning, and my heart is betraying me.

“I-I never knew that. I always assumed Drew knew.”

He shakes his head, looking defeated.

“Viola, I swear on my life that I never meant a word of what I said to Drew that day. I was a dumb kid, embarrassed for having a crush on his best friend’s sister, but I was never embarrassed by you. I wascrazyabout you.”

My breath hitches as our eyes lock.

“I’m still fucking crazy about you.” He takes a step closer toward me, trapping me between his hard chest and the wall, and wraps his hand around my neck, pulling my lips to his.

His kiss is desperate and telling, heated and passionate, deep and soft.

It’severything.

His other hand cups my face, and I completely lose myself in him, giving in to every breathless motion. All the pain and emotion are packed in this one kiss. It’s unlike any other kiss we’ve shared, and I can tell he notices, too.

He leans his forehead against mine, pulling back just enough to catch his breath. “All those years of one-night stands and random hookups never meant anything. They were to numb the pain I’d felt from losing you.”

I swallow, unable to fully absorb his words. I keep my eyes closed, afraid if I open them, tears will come falling down. His confession takes me completely off guard, and I want to melt into his arms right here.

“Why didn’t you fight for me then? If you’re being honest about the way you felt, why didn’t you push me harder to ask me what was wrong? It was as if you’d just given up.”