face she was making. The girl looked like a literal angel with her almost white hair and super pale skin. However, looks were very fucking deceiving in her case, because Ry’s little sister was a devil in disguise. She lived for mischief and fully lived up to her name. She wasn’t afraid of anything and often let her curiosity lead her into trouble. She was fearless and fierce in ways I was both scared of and admired.
“Aston broke up with him. I think it’s the first time in Ry’s life he’s ever faced any kind of rejection. He’s going to see it as an epic failure. I’m not surprised he’s falling apart. He can’t stand to lose, and I know he’s going to figure out a way to make this all about him and whatever he’s lacking. He won’t take two seconds to think about the fact that Aston is probably going through something pretty major or that this is just as hard for her. He’ll take all the blame and beat himself up forever.”
I sucked in a startled breath and made my way through the tiny house to my bedroom. I wasn’t planning on playing hostess tonight and practice had worn me out. I just wanted to crawl under my covers and sleep the whole dawning day away. “I can’t believe she dumped him. Those two are so much alike, I thought they would stay together forever. It took him forever to get Royce to agree to let him date his little sister. Ry put the work in.”
Aston Wheeler was as much of a perfectionist as Ry. The girl was literally flawless, which was why I didn’t really care for her. Or rather, it was just one more reason I was annoyingly jealous of her. I was too stubborn to admit that was really why I was standoffish and abrupt with her. I much preferred spending time with her older brother. Royce was an artist. He was quirky and sensitive, but also a badass when it came to protecting his little sister. He was a bit messy and irresponsible with everything in his life, including romance, which made it easy for me to relate to him. There was absolutely no reason rigid and unyielding Ry Archer was the boy I had a problem forgetting. If the universe was fair, I would’ve fallen for Royce all those years ago instead.
Daire sighed again. “She didn’t just break up with Ry; she also told him she’s going to college in California. She told him she wasn’t happy, and hadn’t been in a long time. It’s totally out of character for her. They’ve been together for two years, and he had no idea she was planning on moving out of state after graduation. She didn’t tell him anything. I think he was blindsided by that as much as the breakup. She didn’t even tell me she was applying out of state. All of this was news to me as well. I want to shake her.”
I let out a low whistle as I wrestled my boots off my feet. “I didn’t know she had it in her to be so secretive.” Aston seemed like such a sweet girl. I couldn’t imagine her keeping something so huge from not only the guy she was seeing, but also her bestie.
“She doesn’t. Which is why I’m sure there’s gotta be a reason behind her actions that neither Ry nor I know about. I’m worried about her, but my brother takes priority. He comes first, no matter what.” She made an amused sound that made me glare into my empty room before she asked, “Want to explain to me why, out of everyone he knows, and all his friends that live way closer than you do, he picked you to run to? Why did he go looking for you, Bowe? He ran from the girl he supposedly loved more than anything right to you.”
I threw myself back on my bed and practically growled, “I’ll talk to you later, Daire. I’ll make sure your brother calls you once he wakes up and gets back to his regular self.”
I hung up the call on the sound of her knowing laughter.
I tossed my cell toward the empty side of the bed and lifted my hands to rub my tired eyes. I was going to smear dark eye makeup all over my face, but couldn’t muster up the energy to care or rouse myself to wash it all off before bed. Instead,