Page 65 of Wild Lies

I need to fix this.

I need this not to be happening right now.

My phone vibrates in my hand, but I don’t look at it. I can’t. This can’t be happening.

How could Chloe have done this?

I told her not to share any pictures. Fuck. I told her not to share that fucking picture.

When I reach the ranch, I jump from Duke, handing him over to Zac, who happens to be the nearest ranch hand to me. “I have to go,” I call, not bothering to look back.

I run across the yard toward my truck, the gravel crunching beneath my feet. Adrenaline is guiding me, with anger and hurt chasing on its heels. What the hell was she thinking?

There’s no way for me to undo this.

Nothing will ever be the same.

The thought settles on my chest like a ton weight, and when my phone vibrates again, I turn it off, throwing it into the glove compartment as I slide behind the wheel. I can’t deal with them and the confusion and hurt they must be feeling right now.

As I speed out of the driveway, I slam my fist against the steering wheel, yelling into the nothingness. Panic seizes my lungs, burning its way out of my chest. The realization that there is nothing I can do to fix this settles in my gut. The devastation of Chloe’s betrayal isn’t something I think I’ll ever be able to get over.

My anger hasn’t abated by the time I pull into the parking lot at the back of her apartment. I kill the engine, jumping from the truck, uncaring if my door is shut before I march across the asphalt. The first door isn’t locked, so I let myself in, taking the stairs two at a time. At least she’s here. I considered trying my place first, but something told me she’d have gone to the apartment.

When I reach her door, I grip the sides of the frame, forcing myself to take a breath as I rest my forehead against the wood. It does nothing to calm the anger and hurt coursing through my veins.

Bringing up one fist, I bang on the door, listening for any sign on the other side that she’s in there. Of course she will be. Where else is she going to be?

Chloe pulls open the door, a soft smile on her face when her eyes land on me. “Hey, handsome.” She blinks, her features filling with concern. “Come in, Kade. What’s happened? Is everyone okay?”

My nostrils flare as her scent assails me, and I stride past her. “I just need to know why?” I demand, coming to a stop in the middle of the entryway before turning to face her.

A groove forms between her brows. “Why what?” she asks, tilting her head.

“Knowing everything I’ve told you, why would you post that fucking picture, Chloe?” I seethe.

She flinches, taking a step back, but I’m too lost in the haze of my fury to fully comprehend it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit,” I shout, turning away from her. “Fucking bullshit.”

Chloe circles me like a bull she’s trying to wrangle before coming to a stop in front of me, her eyes seeking out mine. “I’m telling the truth. I don’t know what you’re⁠—”

Cutting her off, my emotions uncaring of her excuses, I fire back, “I told you my biggest secret, and you went ahead and posted a fucking picture of me on the internet. After my cousin had fucking followed you on your social media, Chloe.” She opens her mouth to speak, but I keep going. “You knew what was on the line for me. And yet you still did it. I thought I could trust you. You’ve been telling me to come clean and when I said I can’t, you decided to take matters into your own hands. Or was it because you wanted me to stop, and so you what? Forced me into doing it?”

She takes a step back, a look on her face as if I’ve hit her. “I would never do that. How could you think so little of me? I didn’t tell anyone. When I told you that you could trust me, I meant it. I don’t know what picture you’re talking about.”

Heat pricks behind my eyes, and when she lifts an arm to touch me, I hold a hand up and move out of her reach. “No. Do not touch me.”

My hand is shaking, and I curl it into a fist to hide it from her as it drops to my side. I dig my nails into my palm, just to feel the pain somewhere else, somewhere other than in my chest. I can’t be around her right now. If she touches me, I don’t know that I’ll be able to hold it together, and I refuse to show her the destruction she’s caused. To spill myself at her feet and expose every piece of me that she’s broken by posting that fucking picture.

Chloe blows out a trembling breath, tugging on the strands of her hair as her eyes well with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, I posted some pictures from the rodeo, but you weren’t in them. I swear. I’d never do something like that and force you into telling your family. That’s not me. You have to believe me.”

I almost step forward. Almost reach for her. Almost tell her I’ll figure out a way to make it right. But the truth is, I don’t know that I can.

Tipping my head back, I stare up at the ceiling before refocusing my attention and looking at her. “That’s where you’re wrong.” I pull out my phone, my hands shaking as I bring up the group chat and find the screenshot Gracie sent through, ignoring the unread messages. Holding the phone up to her face, I bite out, “The last picture. It’s me, Chloe. My sister sent this to the family group chat. Nobody else has this fucking picture. You did what you promised me you wouldn’t ever do.”

Her eyes go wide, and I see the panic setting in, but it’s nothing compared to what I felt when I saw that message. What I feel now, knowing I still have to deal with the mess she’s made. And for what?

“Oh God, Kade, I’m so sorry.” Her face crumples. “What can I do? I’ll take it down. I’ll go and talk to them and tell them that it was a mistake. Tell them it wasn’t you. I’ll do anything to make this right, Kade.”