“Robin, please,” he begs and motions for me to roll down the window. Part of me wants to hear his explanation, but there’s a bigger part of me that’s screaming you idiot, he’s hurt you enough! Why torture yourself more?
So I ignore him, give him one, last agonizing look, and speed down the road, trying to get over the fact that he’s running, chasing after the car still screaming my name.
~22~
Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself, and all things possible. ~Author Unknown~
When we get back to the house I try my best to push what just happened at the party into a dark corner of my brain, but I’m just not able to do it. My heart is still racing from witnessing the fight and questions pound through my brain as I try to make sense of it all.
On top of that, after Whit and I get out of the car I see Sadie again. And she’s still crying. I give Whit and look telling her that we should go talk to Sadie and she give me a look back that says it’s all me and she doesn’t want any part of it. A second later she dashes into the house.
Thanks a lot, Whit.
I’m not good with girl problems period. And now thanks to two extremely hot brothers I have enough of them to deal with on my own. And even though Sadie and I aren’t friends anymore, my heart breaks for her as I listen to the sound of her tortured howling.
“Sadie?” I approach her slowly and for a second she scowls at me, but the scowl fades quickly and is replaced by a look of agonizing pain.
Sadie sucks back her tears and holds her head high and says, “What?”
“Do you need someone to talk to?”
Sadie lowers her head and looks away. “No.”
“Are you sure?” Even though she doesn’t invite me over to sit next to her, I sit down anyway. If it weren’t for Whit, I don’t know how I’d come out of this vacation in one piece. Sadie doesn’t have anybody and right now, I’m determined to be that somebody whether she wants me to be or not. “Look, Sadie,” I say sincerely. “I know I’m probably the last person you want to be talking to right now. But I want you to know I know how you feel. He hurt me too. So if you need someone to talk about it with, I’m here.”
I place my hand on her shoulder.
Sadie jerks her shoulder away and glares me. Her eyes are full of pain and hatred. “You have no idea how I feel!” she snaps. “So why don’t you just mind your own damn business!”
My mouth hangs open. “Really? Really? I’m
trying to be nice here, Sadie. What is your problem?”
“Since when do you care how I feel,” she sneers. “You know I hear and see the way you and that friend of yours mock me. And I’ll tell you this, Robin for someone who used to be one of my best friends, I never thought I’d ever get that from you.”
Her comment stuns me. “Sadie, I—I.”
“Just shut up,” she cuts me off.
“Honestly, Sadie. I thought you were the one who decided to give our friendship the old heave-ho first,” I insist. “If we hurt your feelings I’m truly, truly sorry.”
Sadie is silent for a moment. She drops her head and plays around in the sand with her big toe. “You know, I didn’t know you liked him like that. And even though we aren’t really friends anymore I want you to know that I would have never hooked up with him if I knew how you felt about him. I mean I caught you staring at him sometimes and you guys were together at the party, but by that point I was already so invested. I didn’t want to give him up.” Sadie lifts her head and we exchange a tortured glance as tears water in her eyes.
“Thanks, Sadie. That means a lot.” I shift in my spot and pick my feet up, sliding my knees closer to my chest. “The same goes for me, you know. I mean I’d had feelings for Drake along time, but if I knew you liked him like that I wouldn’t have acted on those feelings.”
A soft smile curls on her lips. “I appreciate that, Robin.” Tears stream down her cheeks. “You know what hurts more than anything?”
“What?”
“The whole time I was hooking up with him I kept thinking that maybe just maybe he might see us as something more you know?” I nod and Sadie folds her hands in her lap. “But I was wrong and my own idiocy is what is tearing me up inside more than anything. After our final phone call I kept asking myself how I could be so stupid.”
“I don’t think you even know how many times I asked myself the same question.”
Sadie cocks an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Sadie lets out a breath. “How is it that guys like Drake always have power over girls like that? I mean I’m sure I’m not the only one who fell victim to that gorgeous smile and amazing body.”