He never says a word to me.
Two weeks after I arrive, I see him pull up outside his sister’s house for their weekly family dinner. I’m in the front yard, weeding.
He gets out of his truck without looking at me, his jaw clenched.
“Benji,” I say, the word ripped out of my throat.
Swinging his gaze to me, Benji grunts. “Yeah?”
I open and close my mouth, not sure what to say. Finally, I take a step toward him. My eyes drift over his broad shoulders, the stubble on his jaw, the way his hands clench into fists.
My heart stutters. He’s shut off from me. His walls are up, drawbridge closed, eyes on attack. Pain rockets through my chest cavity, bouncing against my ribs and making me stop in my tracks. Is this really the man I fell for?
“I don’t want you to hate me,” I whisper. “I’m sorry I missed the party.”
Benji stares at me for a moment, then scoffs. He shakes his head, his mouth turning down. I can feel the bitterness rolling off him in waves.
“It’s not about the party, Rae,” he says, and the sound of my name makes my heart skip a beat. “You just don’t get it, do you?”
I can’t answer.
Benji lets out a sigh, his eyes softening. “You left when you knew it was important to me, and you went to see people who turned their backs on your brother and sister. You chose them over all of us. Over me. It’s not about missing a party, Rae. It’s the fact that you took their house. You took their job. You took everything they offered, and then you came back here and thought you could have me, too.” He shakes his head. “That’s not how it works.”
“Benji…”
He drops his head, turning away from me, and my heart splinters. A dagger jams itself in my chest, all the way to the hilt. I watch him walk away, and I know it’s over between us.
For two weeks, I’ve held out hope that he’d forgive me. That he’d see things from my perspective.
Now, I realize that won’t happen.
I trudge back into my own house, wondering how it is that my whole world fell apart around me—and if I’ll have to live the rest of my days watching him live his life from a distance.
For the first time in two weeks, I allow myself to cry. I get in the shower and stand under the stream, letting the water mix with my tears until my fingers wrinkle and the water runs cold.
“He’ll come around, Rae,” Lucy says, putting her hand over mine. “He just needs time. The party meant a lot to him.”
I smile sadly, shaking my head. “I don’t think so. I can see it in his eyes. He doesn’t look at me the same way he used to.”
“Just because you missed his party?”
“It’s more than that.” My voice is drenched in sadness. It’s hard to explain the depth of Benji’s anger to my sister, when all she sees is a small disagreement.
It’s not just the party. It’s not just the house, or the position on the board.
He doesn’t see me the same way as he did before, and I doubt he ever will. Whatever happened between us, it fizzled out as quickly as it flamed. Something shifted when I left, and I’m not sure it’ll ever shift back.
The illusion shattered. The vision dispelled.
And I’m crushed.
I hurried back to Woodvale because I finally realized what I’d left behind. I chose Benji and my siblings over my parents. I chose Woodvale over Houston. Family over wealth.
But Benji only sees what I left behind.
If he can’t meet me halfway, is that really the type of person I want to be with? Ever since I came back, he’s hardly spoken to me at all. When he does, it’s rude, and short, and sharp. It’s not the way I want a partner to speak to me. It’s not the way someone talks when they’re supposed to care about you.
A tear rolls down my cheek before I can brush it away. Lucy lets out a sigh. I lift my eyes to my sister, drawing my eyebrows together.
“I love him, Lucy,” I whisper. “I fell in love with him as soon as I arrived here, and nothing has ever been the same.”
“Oh, Rae.” Lucy sighs. She squeezes my hand. “Your heart has always been too big for your own good.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.” I grimace as my chest squeezes. “I think I wanted to have it all—the big family, the boyfriend, the happy life—and I forgot to look around and see what was important to everyone else.”
“It’s just a party, Rae. He’ll understand once he calms down.”
I shake my head. “It’s more than a party.”
Lucy arches her brows, staring at me like she knows what I mean. Her words won’t comfort me now.
The front door opens, and we both turn to see my brother step through. Sawyer’s eyebrows jump up when he sees me, then he clicks his tongue and shakes his head. He’s been angry with me since I got back, too. He hasn’t come around to the house and has barely spoken to me at the garage.
“Hey, Sawyer.” A lump forms in my throat. I can’t handle my brother being mad at me, too. I’m tired.
“You shouldn’t have left.” His eyes are hard.
“I know.”
“Did you get what you wanted from our parents?”
He crosses his arms, staying on the opposite side of the room. The distance between us feels vast, and Lucy squeezes my hand again. At least she’s in my corner.
I clear my throat. “No. I wanted them to come up here, and they refused.”
“But you got the house and the job.” His gaze narrows.
“They promised they’d change their flights and come meet you guys if I signed the papers. I thought—” My voice catches, and I bite my lip
