“Soph, your boyfriend—”
“Don’t you dare start that again,” she warns.
“He’s not who you think he is,” I blurt out, ignoring her.
A sarcastic laugh escapes her. “How do you know anything about our relationship? Oh wait, you don’t.”
I’m trying to stay calm for her sake. “He’s not a correctional officer, Soph. He doesn’t work at the prison and never has. I checked.”
Sophie shakes her head, her lips in a firm line. Standing directly in front of me, she points a finger in my face. “How dare you go behind my back and snoop on him? How fucking dare you, Mason. Your audacity is absolutely mind-boggling.” Her voice is so quiet, it’s scary.
I stand and grab her elbows, trying to calm her down, but she pushes me away.
I release her, but I don’t let her get far. “I’m trying to help you, Soph.”
She snaps her gaze to mine with fire boiling in her eyes. “Listen to me and listen to me very carefully, Mason. For years of my life, I waited around for you. Seriously waited for you. It was your choice for us not to have a relationship, for us not to progress any further, though I made it clear what I wanted. I tried being your friend, but your behavior toward me didn’t even merit my friendship. Now that I’ve found someone, you feel threatened, but this jealousy bullshit has to stop. You need to butt out of my relationship and mind your own damn business.”
Her words drive through me like a rusted knife, ripping and tearing flesh, leaving a deep wound exposed. “Sophie.” My chest deflates. “I’m not the only one who’s worried—”
“No, Mason. I’m done,” she cuts me off, then slides the patio door open and walks inside the house. I stand there for a moment, looking at the pink and purple sky, wishing things were different. I wish I hadn’t pushed her away for so long so she’d trust me now, but I did and I don’t know if this is fixable.
The patio door slides open. “Sophie needs you to move your truck, ya bastard,” Liam tells me with a smirk.
“What happened to plan B?” I ask him.
“I tried, man. She stormed in cussing your name, and I started to explain that we had good reason for looking into him, that we found out some bad shit that made us worried, but she wasn’t having it. Said I had no room to talk and mocked my wealth of knowledge on relationships, then marched out.”
I shake my head. “I might just make her wait out there all night.”
“You’ve always been stubborn. She might murder you, though.” The door closes, and I take another minute to myself before walking through the house to meet her in the front. She’s standing at her car, and instead of doing what she demands, I go to her. Sophie takes a step away, pressing her back against her car, and she sucks in a ragged breath. Even if she doesn’t want to listen to me, I’m determined to make her.
“Real cute parking behind me. It’s as if you both had this planned the entire time,” she says with venom in her voice.
Staring into her brown eyes, I shrug, wishing I could read her thoughts. “I’m sorry for hurting you. I never wanted to fucking hurt you, which is why I only wanted to stay friends. Maybe you don’t understand that, but I wouldn’t expect you to. But as your friend, I’m so damn worried about you. About the way you’re acting. The seclusion. How you’ve put a wall up between all of us, even your sisters. I don’t know what’s going on with you, Sophie, but this didn’t happen until you started dating him. So I have my reasons for checking him out.”
She tries to open her mouth and speak, but I place a finger over her soft lips to silence her.
“The foundation of your relationship was built on a lie, unless you knew that already. Did you?”
She doesn’t answer me, but I see a flicker of sadness in her eyes.
“You didn’t. And I know I can’t make you happy. I can’t give you what you want, but I’ll be damned if someone like him has you in ways I can only dream and disrespects you while forcing you away from everyone who loves you. Over my goddamn dead body. So if you hate me for that, then so be it. Hate me. But trust me when I say I’ve only had your best interests in mind, and I only want you to be safe. Weston is dangerous.”
I see tears brim on the edge of her eyes, and I want nothing more than to lean over and kiss them all away, but there’s a wall between us, one I can’t climb.
“Let me leave,” she says with a broken voice.