The hurt and betrayal they must feel.
“Sunshine,” Collin whispers so low, only I can hear.
I turn to look at him, trying not to let the tears spill over.
“They love you. Everything will be okay.”
He keeps saying that, and I want to believe him so damn badly, but my damn mind won’t let me.
Have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're walking forever and getting nowhere? That's how I feel right now as we descend the staircase. It’s like time has slowed, yet not slow enough because when I look down and spot the guys at the bottom, off to the side, the urge to turn around and run back up the stairs is so damn strong.
Declan looks confused, Grayson looks hurt, and Preston looks like he’s ready to rip his brother's head clean off his body.
People are watching, whispers floating around the room.
No one knew. So it’s a surprise to everyone, including our parents.Fuck, that’s another conversation I’m not excited for.
As we reach the bottom of the stairs, all I can hear is the blood pounding in my ears.
In the blink of an eye, Preston is in front of us, a murderous expression on his handsome face.
“What the fuck!?” Preston hisses, baring his teeth at Collin as he fists his suit jacket and gets in his face. “Wanna tell me why the announcer said you’re no longer a Jones? Or maybe why the fuck he just called Sadie your wife?”
I bite the inside of my cheek so hard it bleeds, the copper taste adding to my nausea. I can’t cry. I can’t break down. And I really can’t throw up in front of all these people.
“Sadie.” My gaze finds Declan’s hurt and confused eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later, I promise,” I whisper, the weight of everyone’s stares crawling along my skin like a million little spiders.
I hate the attention. All I want to do is drag the guys out of here and explain everything.
But I can’t. Not yet. We have appearances to keep up. Especially since one of the sets of eyes watching us right now is the very man I wish would just disappear and make all of our lives so much better.
“Or... you could explain right the fuck now,” Preston hisses, giving Collin a hard shake.
Collin reaches up and wraps his hand around Preston’s. “Not here,” he growls back, low and dangerous. “If you care about Sadie, back off. Or he’s going to see.”
Preston’s brows furrow as he thinks about Collin’s words. A moment passes between them, like a silent conversation.
I breathe out a small sigh of relief when Preston releases Collin, giving him a little shove as he takes a step back. “I needa fucking drink if I’m going to get through this night,” he spits before shoulder-checking Collin as he walks past him.
“I’m not sure what's going on, Pretty Girl,” Grayson says, my eyes flicking over to his stormy blue ones. “I’m choosing to trust you. But after this,” he nods his head to the room, “you tell us everything.”
“I promise.” I give him a slight but firm nod.
“Come on, D-man. Let’s go babysit your boy so he doesn’t drink himself into trouble.” Grayson wraps his arm around Declan’s shoulder, leading him away.
Declan looks over his shoulder at me, his eyes still swimming with hurt.
“I love you,” I mouth, trying really hard not to cry right now.
That seems to help, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he lets Grayson guide him away.
“Let’s dance,” Collin suggests, leaning in to press a kiss to my cheek. “Everyone is watching,” he whispers in my ear. “Time to sell this.”
My eyes flick up to his, and I give him a sad smile. “Not really going to be hard to sell.” I let him take my hand, guiding me to the center of the dance floor.
People whisper, their attention still on us because apparently we’re the most exciting thing about this damn party. Pretty sad if you ask me.
