For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,51

it off. "Stop," she hissed. "There's a big window on the front of the house, and if they're already wondering about me, the last thing I need is to prove it!"

He lifted both hands, making it clear he wouldn't try again. "Rhaven, I think they'll be ok. That's the only reason I brought it up. Those two love you. They're kinda great, in all honesty. I mean, your brother's an asshole, but the good kind."

"But I'm not ready," she said.

"So, not doing it this week?"

Her heart locked up. There was only one week until the Denver convention. Five days, so not even a full week! If she was going to do this, it needed to be soon, but did she have to? What if she waited until the next one? What if she did it for Columbus?

"I'm not ready," she said again, but this time it was a revelation, not a defense.

"Hey." He shifted so she had to look at him. "If you need me to come back and stand with you, I will."

"And then what?" she asked. "You can't make them be ok with me."

"No, but I just want to take care of you."

She scoffed. "Braden, maybe you think that's wonderful, but it's kinda not. You like vulnerable, right? Well, guess what? I don't like hearing that it applies to me. I don't want to be some weak and simpering idiot, ok? I never should have said anything." She tossed up her hands. "I should've told you to stay in Billings!"

He just dropped his head. "Baby, I'm just trying to help."

"And this isn't about you, Braden. This is my life! That means I have to figure it out on my own."

"I know," he insisted, "but for me it helps to have a push. Or at least someone to lean on, and that's all I'm offering."

"And I'm not ready!" she snapped. "I don't know why you can't get that."

"So when will you be?" he countered. "I don't mean time. I mean what has to happen for you to finally be ready? When you know how they'll take it? I have bad news, Rhaven. That doesn't happen. Even if all signs point to them not caring, you'll still have this feeling. Know why? Because that is your family, and family is supposed to be the one thing that is always there. Blood is thicker than water and all that, right?"

"But - "

"No," he said. "I put it off just like you are. I waited. I said I'd do it soon, and the internet did it first. My mom saw it on fucking Facebook, ok? Pictures, Rhaven. Me and some guy in college making out. I tried to tell her it had been a dare, but she's not stupid, and neither is your family. Tyler already suspects, so what do you have to lose?"

"Everything!" The word came out a yell, but she couldn't do anything about that now. "I don't want to see my brother look at me in disgust. I don't want to hear my dad tell me to never come back. They're all I have, and I'm not ready to lose them."

"I don't think you will," he promised.

But there was no way for him to know that. "And if you're wrong?" she asked. "Then where am I? Oh, sure, someone will find me a place to sleep, but there's a lot more to life than that. A job, a home, a family. I'll lose all of that, Braden. Don't you get it?"

He reached up to scratch at the back of his head. "Look, I'm sorry. I told him I wouldn't out you."

"What?!" she asked. "That all but confirms it. Jesus Christ, Braden. I thought I could trust you."

"No, that's not how it went down."

"I don't care." She pointed to his car. "Just go. I knew it was a bad idea to mix my real life and the gamer one, and now I'm going to pay for it. Fuck!"

"It's going to be ok," he tried.

"No, it's not," she insisted. "That's the part you don't get. This isn't California. We're not living in some big urban area like you do in Ohio. This is the middle of nowhere, and out here, people don't like freaks like me."

This time, he did grab her arm. Then he shook her gently. "Stop. Just fucking stop. Get pissed if you want. That's fine. But the woman I know is a fighter. I can't imagine 'Ethan' is any different, so don't try that line." Then he ducked