Unbreakable(50)

“Because I deserved this.” I don’t realize it until I say the words aloud, but deep down, that’s exactly how I feel. I f*cking deserved his wrath, and I took the punishment.

“No, you didn’t deserve this,” she says adamantly. “Will, Sully is wrong.”

It might not make sense to Emmy, but it makes perfect sense to me. Explaining it won’t convince her to see things any differently. I release her and walk slowly across the hall to begin packing up my room.

“Maybe if we just let things cool down for a day or two,” she says, standing in the doorway. “Maybe he’ll see—”

“He won’t,” I interrupt. “That’s not going to happen.”

Fuck. This still doesn’t seem real to me. One tiny slip up—caressing her pretty face—has sealed my fate with my best friend. Sully means it when he says I’m dead to him.

My throat aches with unshed tears, because I’ve just lost another person that means the world to me. It feels just like losing my parents all over again, except this time, the person I lost hates me. It’s a horrible feeling.

“I have to go,” I choke out. “I’m sorry.” I brush a kiss against her forehead and go downstairs. She follows behind like I knew she would, begging me to change my mind.

“That’s it, keep walking,” Sully taunts as I pass through the living room.

When I meet Sully’s eyes, they’re full of hurt and anger. Fresh pain washes over me again, and I force one foot in front of the other. I need to get out of here.

Emmy whirls around to face Sully. “You know what? You shut up, Sully. If you knew anything about what I’ve been through lately, and how Will’s been there for me, you wouldn’t be doing this.”

Sully opens his mouth to respond, but Axel stands and points his finger at him. “You’re going to do exactly what she says, Sully. Shut your f*cking mouth.” He looks up. “Will, do you need anything?”

I pause at the front door and shoot Axel a grateful look. He’s the most easygoing guy in our group, but he’s made it clear he’s not putting up with any more bullshit tonight.

“No, man. It’s okay. I’ve got it.”

Emmy trails behind me as I walk out the front door. Sully tries to follow, but I see Dylan shove him back down onto the couch out of the corner of my eye. Dylan might not say much, but even Sully knows better than to push Dylan’s buttons. He’s one of the biggest guys on the team.

I take a deep breath and hurry toward my truck. The next few minutes are going to be brutal, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it.

“Will, wait!”

Emmy has to jog to catch up with me. I throw my suitcase in the truck bed and turn around. Her eyes are red, and her face is puffy from crying. It completely wrecks me. Then again, I’m sure my face isn’t looking too hot either after the beat down I just took.

“Don’t leave like this. Please.”

“There’s not another way to leave, Em. You know I can’t stay after what went down.”

A few more tears escape and roll down her cheeks. “But we didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You didn’t. I did,” I say, brushing a tear away with my thumb.

“No! No matter what Sully feels, you didn’t do anything wrong. Neither of us did.”

“What happened in there tonight?” I gesture toward the cottage, “That’s a direct result of my bad decisions. I shouldn’t have kissed you, and I shouldn’t have had sex with you. I put us both in an impossible situation.”

“You didn’t do those things alone, Will. I was there, too. I had a choice. Besides, everyone knows now. It’s not like we have to hide what we did anymore. Sully will just have to get over it.”

I shake my head. “Jesus Christ. Don’t you get it? Em, none of this should ever have happened. It was all a mistake.”

“No.” She looks stricken. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Really? Because that mistake I supposedly didn’t make has just cost me my friendship with Sully. He feels that I f*cked up, and nothing’s going to change that.”

“You still have me, Will. We can get through this together.”

I swallow and lean back against the truck. “Yeah, well that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t have you either.”

She takes a step back and stares up at me. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You can’t pick sides, Emmy. Sully’s your family. If anyone knows the value of family and what it means to lose it, it’s me. I won’t let you take sides against your brother.”

She crosses her arms. “Well, it’s too late. I’ve already picked sides, and I choose you.”

I slam my hand against the side of the truck, and she jumps. I’m going to have to go to an ugly place to make her see things my way, and it’s going to destroy me. “You’re not listening to me.”

“Will—” she puts her hand on my arm, but I shrug it off.

“I told you from the beginning that it was just sex, Emmy. I told you that. It was fantastic sex, okay? But that’s all it was. And what, you’re just going to throw away your relationship with your brother over that? He was looking out for you up there. Maybe it seems f*cked up, but he beat the shit out of me because he loves you.”