Page 264 of Double or Nothing

“Stop!”

His face is inches from mine, fury finally putting colour back into it. The clench of his knuckles against my chest feels much more satisfying than watching him cry.

“There he is,” I say. “The Bryce with a backbone. That’s what she needed to see.”

“Don’t push me.”

“Why not? In case you might finally do something?”

“You arrogant bastard.”

“I’d rather be an arrogant bastard than a coward.”

He shoves me onto the sofa and stands over me, his fury a grimace.

“I was hurting.”

“So was she.”

“I’d just watched her accept another man’s proposal.”

“Then she followed you and explained why. She offered to go back and end it.”

“I know what she said.”

“THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE WITHOUT HER?”

The question hangs between us like silent torture.

The fury drains out of him, leaving just the shell.

I prepare myself for the rational spiel of bullshit. The logic about family life being complicated. The Parker power the two of them live their lives in fear of. Blah, blah, blah, fucking blah.

“Because I failed her,” Bryce says. “I failed her when she needed me most.”

The honesty takes the rest of the fight from me.

He presses both hands to his face.

“Now I’d give anything to take it back.” His voice breaks. “I came here to tell you. I thought you should know.”

“Thanks for the consideration. What are you planning on doing now? Just walking away with a catch you later?”

“I don’t know, Jack. It depends if you still want me to stay. Because if I was you… now you know what I did…”

The words strip every clever answer from my mouth.

I mean, he fucked up, sure. But he’s hanging himself from the gallows with guilt, on the back of one busted conversation. It’s hardly the crime of a lifetime, even though it feels like it.

Still, he came and told me. He came for the confession.

And more.

Support.

Empathy.

Forgiveness.