The hopelessness of our situation comes crashing down on me all over again, especially when my brother asks Stone to hit up a club with him.
Stone shakes his head. "Not tonight, man. Maybe some other time."
"That's what you've said for the past two weeks," my brother grumbles. "What's up with you, man?"
Stone avoids my gaze, and my stomach falls.It suddenly hits me like a ton of bricks. I've been naive to think that this was going to work. Stone and I can never be together. It's never going to be okay with my brother, and the sooner we accept that, the better. This is going to be hard enough as it is.
But it's like a bandage, right? You have to rip it off, and the sooner, the better.
"Thanks for keeping me company, Stone, but I'm good now. I'm going to head home. You and Jeremy go hang out and do whatever guys do."
Stone's brows furrow, and his eyes hold a multitude of emotions I don't want to decipher.
"Hey, can we talk later, Mia?" Jeremy asks hopefully.
I nod my head at him. "Sure. I'd like that. Just call me tomorrow or something."
I see the relief wash over my brother's face and feel a prick of guilt. He's probably been in hell worrying about me all this time. I wouldn't talk to him because I wasn't ready to come back to the real world and face reality.
But now that it's crystal clear that Stone and I can never be together without jeopardizing his relationship with my brother, there's no reason for me to put off my talk with my brother any longer.
I can almost feel Stone's eyes burning into me as I turn and make my way home.
It was a nice fantasy while it lasted, but that's all it was—a fantasy.Maybe Stone knew that all along and was just playing for as long as possible. It’s evident from his actions today that Stone would never choose me over my brother.
Part of me can't blame him, but another part of me is tremendously hurt and jealous.
I don't know what I'm going to do now because Stone will still be in my brother’s life. How can I see him every day knowing he can’t be mine?
I guess it's a good thing I'm planning to go to college soon. When I was entertaining thoughts of being with Stone, I was planning on taking online classes and living at home, but now I need to sign up for the in-person classes—anything to get me out of the house and away from the man I love but can never have.
Tears prick my eyes when I walk in the door and Trixie comes bounding up to me, looking behind me for Stone.My poor girl has gotten used to having him around. Moisture rushes to my eyes. It’s not just me who's going to have a broken heart. Trixie will too.
I burst into tears, sobs wracking my body as I slide down my door and put my head in my hands in despair.