of at a legal stalemate. You have a legal right to live there, and he has the right to go to the authorities and claim you’re a stalker. His evidence that you may be a stalker is pretty weak, but your name goes in the legal system here regardless.”
I closed my eyes and held the water bottle to my forehead. “Huck was always really good at backing people into a corner.” Only, I’d never been one of the unfortunate ones before.
“He didn’t seem even a little bit happy to see you after all this time?” Mercer kept her voice low like she knew she was tiptoeing across very dangerous territory.
Huck had looked as far from happy as one man could. He looked horrified. He looked angry. He looked traumatized. And he looked… so fucking handsome.
He was breathtaking these days. He’d grown up so well that he was almost unrecognizable. If I hadn’t peeked at him on the Internet, there is no way I would’ve recognized him, even with those golden, glowing eyes of his. I’d always been the taller of the two of us, and now he practically towered over me. He looked slick and stylish and not at all like the boy I used to play in the dirt with and chase up trees. He no longer looked like a kid all our rich classmates would tease and torture to gain favor. He used to run around in torn t-shirts and faded jeans. The jeans and t-shirt were still there, but now they fit him perfectly and molded to muscle he hadn’t had before. He’d also added scrolling artwork to his skin along with the bulk. The tattoos weren’t all that surprising since Huck had always been rebellious and wild. I wasn’t expecting the fancy haircut and expensive brand name clothes, though. The Huck I knew used to mock the amount of money the people around us wasted to look just like everyone else. At one point in my life, I understood every single move he made; now, I had no clue what he was thinking and was surprised how easily he turned his back on me.
I knew I was a reminder of things better left forgotten, but I’d been sure that once we were face-to-face, all the good memories we’d made as two misunderstood kids would be enough to replace the biggest, baddest memory that tore us apart.
I was wrong.
So very wrong.
“No, he wasn’t happy to see me. And he told me he never wanted to see me again. His roommates even mentioned he might be mad enough to move out if I pushed taking the room.” I groaned. In my heart, I really thought things would go smoother than they had. But my head knew going up against a grown-up Huck who had a grudge against me wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. I just hadn’t expected him to look at me like he hated me and it hurt so much.
It’d been five years, but it seemed the wounds from my betrayal were still fresh and festering. Having the truth of his disdain and dismissal shoved in my face was one of the most painful things I’d ever gone through. My heart still felt bruised.
Mercer muttered a soft and sympathetic sound. “Maybe if you just give him some time, he’ll come around.”
I shook my head and tried to keep defeat from crushing my soul and the last vestiges of hope I held onto with a death grip. “He’s the most stubborn person on the planet. I don’t know if I can change his mind or get him to listen to me long enough to hear my apology.”
“You risked everything to come here and apologize and right the wrongs from the past. You can’t give up now.” She dropped her hand and cocked her head to the side. “Maybe you should be honest. Think about being upfront with him and tell him why you tracked him down after all this time. Would it hurt to let him know you lost your mom and now you’re all alone? Do you think he’s going to be surprised that you turned on him because his brother threatened your mom and you had no other choice? It sounds to me like he knows what that guy is capable of. I think you should explain how you’ve been living and what you’ve gone through since he left. He needs to know what his brother put you through. It might give