Page 128 of Taking Sides

I nod my acknowledgment. I don’t know why the guys are pretending to let me talk to the girls privately when they’re only going to eavesdrop. I wave them over. Galaxy takes a seat on the other side of Ruby and Travis sits next to Hannah. D-Low stands in front of the TV.

“And what did Whitney say?” Hannah asks, giving me a small, sympathetic smile.

I run a hand through my hair and think back. “She said that he was hurting and that she needed to know I wasn’t going to stoop to his level every time he picked a fight with me. Then she went to find her brother. She was really worried about him.”

He doesn’t deserve her kindness. She’s always looking out for him and how does he repay her? Making her feel like shit. Which is exactly what I did—made her feel bad by attacking her brother. Fuck, maybe I don’t deserve her either.

“And that’s how you left things?” Ruby asks.

“Yeah. We’ve texted a few times, but she hasn’t said much. We’re supposed to talk now that I’m back.” And I might be procrastinating. I can’t go to her until I have a plan to fix this.

I look from Hannah to Ruby for help. “Is it really bad? Did I fuck everything up?”

“No,” Ruby says quickly. “We can figure this out. That girl is head over heels for you.”

Hannah is suspiciously quiet, so I glance at her for confirmation. Her expression is pained. My stomach drops.

“You don’t agree?” I already know the answer, but I need to hear it anyway.

“I don’t know.” Her voice is quiet and unsure.

“Babe,” Trav says like he can’t believe what she’s saying. “You said they were made for each other like me and you.”

My heart flutters with hope. Hannah raises a hand to caress Trav’s cheek for a moment. All the while my pulse is racing for her to get back to me and my giant mess.

But when she does, I’m suddenly not sure I’m ready to have my heart stomped on. I trust Hannah. I know she wouldn’t say something hurtful if she didn’t think it was true.

“I like Whitney a lot and I do think that you two are perfect together. But . . .” She pauses for a moment. “If someone said those things to my sister, I would have a very strong reaction.”

“Yeah, but Wren is great. Victor is an asshole,” Travis says.

“I’m not sure if how I feel would change much even if she was awful.” Hannah smiles in a way that I know is solely for my benefit.

“What do I do? How do I fix it?” I ask. Because I have to fix it.

“I love you, sweetheart, but I don’t know if you’re reading this sitch right.” Trav shakes his head.

“Sitch?” Galaxy smirks. “Really?”

“What the hell is sitch?” D-Low asks.

“Situation,” Ruby says. “One of Aidan’s new favorite words.”

“As I was saying,” Trav continues. “Victor has done some really terrible things over the years. Whitney knows that. She knew Shep hated him this whole time.”

“Yeah, but knowing something and then seeing it go down in front of you are two different things,” Hannah says. “I mean, she kept your relationship a secret for a reason.”

Hannah’s right. Whitney didn’t tell him, which means she expected this. And if that’s true, then maybe she doesn’t want to figure out how to make it work. I dismiss it as quickly as I think it. It can’t be true. I refuse to accept that. I love her. She loves me. Or she did. She may not have said it, but I felt it. No one has ever made me feel more seen and loved than her.

“I don’t hate him. Not anymore. But I hate the way he treats people. Especially Whitney.” The memory of him dismissing her coaching JV kids like it was worthless fills me with rage all over again.

“You love her,” Galaxy says. “And you want to keep her from hurting. I get that. I’d do the same for you, Red.”

Ruby looks at him adoringly.

We all know how Nick stood up for Ruby to her douchebag ex who stole her manuscript and published it to wild success. Nick has destroyed every copy of that book he’s come across.

“I hate to keep being the one to bring it up—” Hannah starts.