Nix’s brow arched and I let out a heavy sigh, dragging a hand over my jaw.
“Do you like her? Really like her? Because there’s no middle ground here. Either you let her go, or you let her risk everything by choosing you. But this isn’t Harleigh we’re talking about, Z. Celeste didn’t grow up in The Row. She’s used to a certain life.”
“Don’t be fucking ridiculous. I would never expect her to pick me. We’re just fooling around.” But as I said the words, my chest tightened, my lungs straining for oxygen.
Choose me.
She would never choose me.
“So you’ll have no problem telling her you made a mistake and that it won’t happen again.”
Something he’d said earlier snagged my attention. “When you said they think Harleigh is to blame for some of Celeste’s recent behavior… is that why things are so weird between them?”
“I think so. Harleigh doesn’t want Celeste to end up resenting her if things go to shit.”
“I really fucked up, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did.” He slung his arm over my shoulder. “But I get it. There’s just something about those Rowe girls.”
“Harleigh will never be a Rowe,” I said.
“No, but she’s still a part of them. No matter how much she hates it.”
“Harleigh needs to patch things up with Celeste. If I… end things”—not that there was really anything to end—“it’s going to hurt her. She doesn’t have anyone else.”
“Shit, you care about her.”
I shrugged but didn’t commit to an answer. What was there to say? Even if I did care about her, it didn’t change anything.
Celeste had her whole future ahead of her.
One that didn’t include me.
* * *
When I woke up the next morning, school was the last thing on my mind. After Nix had given me some hard truths, I’d crawled back into bed and tried to sleep my worries away.
Didn’t fucking work though, and I felt like shit when I finally dragged myself out of bed.
I opened my bedroom and stuck my head out. “Grams, you good?”
“Just making breakfast.”
I smiled. Of course she was. She was one of the most determined, strong-willed people I’d ever met. It was hardly a surprise that her and Celeste got on like a house on fire. They had a lot in common.
I shut those thoughts down. I had practice and school to navigate before I dealt with the shitshow with Celeste.
“Morning,” I said, taking a seat at the table.
“How did you sleep?” Grams came over and grabbed my face, her crinkled eyes looking me up and down. “You seem a little p-pale. Were you drinking last night?”
“I had a couple of beers.”
“Zane Thackeray. What have… I told you?” She tsked, but I didn’t miss the way she grasped the counter, inhaling a weary breath. “Drinking on a school night.”
“Relax.” I stood up, dropping a kiss on her head. “You sit, I’ll finish breakfast.”
“I’m fine.”