“Birdie, I don’t—”
“Don’t call me that,” I shrieked. “Don’t ever call me that. I’m not yours, Nix. I never was.”
He stalked toward me and dropped to his knees. “You’re so fucking righteous, acting like I’m the only one who fucked up. But what about you, huh? You chose this, B. And I get it, I do. Why would you possibly want to stay in The Row when you can have all… all this.” His eyes turned darker, anger swirling in their depths as his chest heaved.
“Y-you think I chose this?” My voice was quiet, thick with disbelief.
“You told me to stay away. You told me to give you space. And then you fucking left without so much as a trace. So if anyone should be feeling screwed over here, it’s me.”
“What?” My blood ran cold.
He stared at me, eyes clouding with confusion. His mouth twisted. “You heard me, B. I fucked up; I get it. You needed me and I wasn’t there. But you left me. You walked away. You decided I wasn’t—”
No.
No.
That’s not how it happened. That’s not—
I searched my mind for the memories, trying to sort through what was the truth and what was lies. But I couldn’t do it, everything was too hazy.
Nix stood, taking the air with him. My lungs smarted, barely recovered from my panic attack in Nate’s bathroom.
“You know, I always imagined it would be you and me until the end. That nothing, no one, would ever come between us. It was you, Wren. It was always fucking you.”
“Lies,” I spat. “Stop lying to me. It isn’t fair,” I screeched, hands fisting the couch.
“Fair?” He seethed, his face red with anger. “I’ll tell you what’s not fair, B. Realizing you have everything you ever wanted and knowing you’re a selfish son of a bitch if you take it. I wanted you that night. I wanted you so fucking much, but things were moving too fast. I wanted you to be sure. I didn’t want you to hate me. So I let you walk away. I let you walk away angry at me and everything went to shit… and you left me.”
“Stop saying I left you.” My hands balled into fists as frustration welled inside me, tears leaking down my face. “I didn’t leave you; I didn’t have a choice.”
Nix ripped his cell phone out of his pocket and ran his thumb over the screen. “Just stop with the lies. It’s done. You chose this life and maybe it’s for the best.” He looked right 1through me. “Maybe it was always supposed to be this way.”