Page 261 of Faking the Goal

"More than you probably think." She tucks one leg beneath her. "Zach and I spent years loving each other without saying it. We were both so scared of ruining the friendship that neither of us ever really told the truth."

She pauses, and something sad passes over her face.

"Then I overheard one conversation and convinced myself I finally had my answer. I thought he didn't want me. I thought I'd been stupid for believing there could ever be more between us."

"Caroline..."

"I never asked him about it," she continues. "Never confronted him. Never gave him the chance to explain. I just filled in all the blanks myself and left."

Her smile is small, but there's no humor in it.

"And I lost three years because of that."

I go quiet.

"Three years of missing him. Three years of still loving him and trying to convince myself I didn't. Three years I can't get back, all because I was too afraid to hear an answer I thought would break my heart."

She looks directly at me.

"And the worst part is, Taylor, the answer I was afraid of wasn't even the truth."

That lands harder than I expect.

Caroline reaches over and takes my hand.

"Talking to Kentaro won't guarantee you the answer you want. I wish it worked like that, but it doesn't."

My stomach drops a little.

"But it will give you the truth. And the truth is always better than spending months—or years—building an entire story in your head because you were too scared to ask."

I stare down at our joined hands.

"You know what's worse than getting your heart broken?" she asks.

I swallow. "What?"

"Wondering whether everything could've been different if you'd just been honest."

My throat tightens.

Caroline squeezes my hand.

"There's always a chance you'll get hurt when you love someone. There's no way around that. But there's also a chance he feels exactly the same way you do."

I blink quickly, trying not to let my eyes sting.

"Don't let fear make the decision for you. Because that's what I did," she says softly. "I was so afraid of losing Zach that I made the decision for both of us. And I almost lost him anyway."

She gives me a small smile. "You won't know how Kentaro feels until you give him the chance to tell you."

I let out a long breath.

Maybe she's right.

Maybe it's time I stop guessing and just ask him.

CHAPTER 33