“This was my fault. Just…” I wanted to punch something. Or break something. I wanted to do anything but look into the face of the one girl who had my heart, knowing that she was now looking down on herself because of something I had done. “Just don’t say anything, okay?”
Ivy’s face was ambivalent. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell her…”
“No!” I shouted, clenching my fist, feeling my stomach form a pit. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just trying to protect you. If Breanna found out, she’d… I don’t know what she’d do but she’s never been a nice person. You know this.”
Ivy’s eyebrow rose. “It seems like you’re trying to protect yourself, Dawson. Don’t worry…” she repeated, walking to the passenger side of my car. “I won’t make a peep.”
Anger flashed within. I let out a groan as I rounded the back of my Camaro. I stood only a couple inches away from her. “You know very well that’s not what I meant. Just stop for a second.”
“I want you to take me home.” Another kick to the balls.
“Ivy,” I protested. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kissed you until I was single.”
Ivy’s lip trembled as she lowered her eyes down to the ground. She dropped her head so low I could barely hear her. “Can you just take me home, please?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, again. I wanted to crush her body onto mine, to make her feel better and to express how sorry I was that after six years of being apart, I choose to kiss her while I was still technically with someone else.
I was a fucking shit boyfriend and an even shittier friend.
“Just take me to my car, please. I… I just want to be alone.”
I clenched my jaw together to keep myself from doing anything else that would get me in trouble or make her feel worse. I knew she was feeling awful. The one thing I knew for certain about Ivy, was that she hated hurting other people and she hated doing wrong.
She was an epic rule-follower as a teen and looking at her almost distraught face now, I knew she still was.
“Okay,” I said, letting out a loud breath.
We didn’t say a word the entire drive back into town. When I pulled up to my house, Ivy opened the passenger door and walked right through the door and into the kitchen. I was following closely behind her, but I stopped near the front door when I heard her upstairs gathering her stuff out of my bathroom and fumbling with her black bag full of clothes.
When she descended down the stairs, I stopped her from leaving. “You can just stay here; I’ll stay with Emmett. Your house is still a mess.”
She shook out her long locks. “I’ll stay with Becca.”
I protested. “Ivy, stop.”
She finally brought her head up to mine. “Dawson, I’m not staying here only to wake up to Breanna in the morning. She’ll see the truth all over my face.”
My shoulders pulled back. “Breanna isn’t coming here in the morning, Ivy.”
She shot back, irritable voice and all. “Well I assume she’ll stop by at some point to see her boyfriend that she hasn’t seen all weekend and I’m not going to be here for the freaking reunion.”
I blew out a heavy sigh. “You know that I’m breaking up with her, right? I didn’t just kiss you for the fun of it tonight. I meant that kiss in every way possible.”
Her face twitched, as if a wall just fell down right in front of our faces. “Just…” she closed her eyes, evening her breath. “Just… when you’re done figuring shit out with her, then come talk to me, but for now…I’m going to Becca’s.”
Then she stormed past me and out the front door.
Once she got to her car, she stopped and looked at me standing in the doorway, and then to the structure of the house, a look of uncertainty on her face.
Then she slammed her car door shut and peeled down the road, tires spinning in her wake.
I knew one thing for certain – Breanna and I, we were over, and Ivy and I, we were just getting started.
I hope.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ivy