Toxic (Ruin, #2)(62)

“Because you were snarky.” I smirked.
She giggled. “Only because you were cocky and made fun of me.”
“True.” The sun peeked over the mountains. “And I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
“So days later, when we met again, it was chaotic because we both despised and intrigued one another,” she continued.
“I pursued.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrows arched.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I pursued… wanting you, needing you. I went about it all wrong, as most guys do, thinking that if I could just make you hate me you’d leave me alone to wallow.”
“Silly boys, that never works,” Saylor whispered, her eyes welling with tears.
“Never.” I shook my head and clenched her hand. “Because we forget that hate and love are sometimes impossible to tell apart.” My voice went hoarse. “And then I fell.”
“Me too.”
“I took you out on… ten dates?”
“Wow!” Saylor laughed. God, I could listen to her laugh forever. It was deep and sounded real, not fake or high pitched. “Someone’s optimistic.”
“And we hung out every second of every day.”
“Made music together.” Saylor grinned. “For hours on end.”
“Kissed.” I sighed. “For hours on end.”
“And what started out as hate…” I shrugged. “…blossomed into full out love. And neither of us wanted to be without the another.”
“So we stayed.” Saylor’s eyes watered as she looked at the sun rising, lighting up the inside of the car. “We stayed that way forever.”
“In our house.” I focused my attention on the Sound and squeezed her hand as tight as I possibly could.
“And lived…” Saylor whispered. “…happily ever after.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Happily ever after.”
“It would have been a great story.” Saylor sniffled, tears streaming down her face.
“With a killer ending.” I cupped her face in my hands.
“Too bad it’s just a story.” She bit her lower lip and shrugged as more tears dripped over her lips.
“Yeah.” Something pierced my heart, made it hurt so damn bad I thought I was going to die right on the spot.
“Gabe…” Saylor kissed my mouth. “For what it’s worth, I still want to be in the story, even if it means… I walk away empty-handed. Even if it means I walk away without my heart. You’ve made your choice. And I’ve made mine.”
“Even if it means you’re left with nothing?” I asked.
“Just because the girl doesn’t end up with the boy in the end — doesn’t mean she ends up with nothing. Life’s a gift. I just want to share yours, no matter how small the pieces that are shared may be.”
“God…” I was going to swear, but her mouth covered mine.
“God…” Saylor tapped my chin. “Wrote the ending before the beginning was ever even realized.” She shrugged. “Let’s write our story the same way.”
I nodded and reached for the door. Because really what else could I say to make everything better?
She knew as well as I did that the minute we both got out of the car, Gabe would officially be nothing but a memory. The normal college life, walking around the home and helping out.
Life would change.
And the biggest change would be that people finally knew about Kimmy. They finally knew she was alive, and would soon know we were engaged.
Which left Saylor out of the picture.
I was torn. Because although my heart belonged to another — I really wished that it belonged to her.
Because what I had with Saylor it was a living breathing thing, and what I had with Kimmy? It was like trying to revive something that had been dead a long time.
I loved her — but I wasn’t in love with her. Yet my heart wouldn’t allow me to completely let go. It hurt too much to think about. No matter which direction I walked in — it hurt.
“Ashton!” A reporter charged toward me. Saylor gripped my hand the whole time I walked slowly toward the building. “Ashton, tell us. Is it true? Have you been secretly hiding out in Seattle? Going to school and passing off as a student all these years? And your fiancée? Rumors were she passed away in an accident. What really happened all those years ago?”
I sighed as the weight of the world nestled onto my shoulders. “I’ll answer all your questions.” I offered a polite nod. “But right now, I really need to check on my fiancée — she’s been sick, and that trumps giving you guys a story. Please, respect my privacy a little while longer.”
The reporter’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s this?” She pointed to Saylor, who was still at my side.
I opened my mouth to say… I don’t know what the hell I was going to say. My girlfriend? Because that would sound all kinds of horrible, considering my fiancée was lying inside the home not a hundred feet away from us.
“His best friend.” Saylor smiled warmly.
“Rumor has it your best friend is Wes Michels.” The lady smirked.
“What is this, first grade?” another reporter lashed out. “He can have two best friends.”
“Mike.” I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d known him since I’d gotten my start. He was a reporter for HollyWood Today and then went into retirement. “I thought—”
“I’ve lived up here for years Ashton. Thought I’d come out of retirement and see how my favorite kid was doing.”