Page 74 (1/2)

Her laughter was harsh "Oh, I owe you, huh Riiiiiight Because everything has to be about you"

"What are you talking about?" He could feel his voice getting loud, but he couldn’t stop it "What is wrong with you?"

"Me? Nothing is wrong withht in your world Congratulations--hey, maybe you two and my sister and Oskar can double-date as needs" She clapped her hands together "Yay! Selfie time!"

Before he could open his mouth, she leaned forward "And don’t pretend that you’re surprised You knew exactly what you were doing the whole ti mated to someone else, but you played it like--" She cut herself off "Anyway, do me a favor and don’t invite me to the ceremony, ’kay? I’m pretty sure it would be aard for the shellan-to-be, and whereas your kind is perfectly happy to be cruel, ouldn’t want to be tacky, would we Yeah, ’cuz that’s wrong"

A pair of humans, a man and a woman, came down the stairs over on the left, and the fact that they were laughing and holding hands was a real kick in the balls

Peyton stepped to the side to let theh the vestibule to speak

"It’s not what you think"

Novo laughed again "Really? Just how many ways do you believe this scenario is open to interpretation--or do you assume that because I’rateful to be your hot, kinky side-piece for the rest of my life"

Peyton took another step back And then a third "So you’ve , huh"

"The math is not that hard And I’m a very smart female"

"FYI, you haven’t let me say one word about any of this"

"Why would I Your version isn’t going to matter to me at all It’s only air, not substance Just like you"

Peyton felt that one go right through the center of his chest And in the aftermath, he looked down at the floor Dimly, he noticed the carpet was da in froht of how she had let hiht

He had been so convinced he was finally in her heart

But he should have known better

Maybe at a different time in her life they could have had a better chance A relationship with her, though, was going to be like running a marathon on a broken foot There were accoender trust, reassurances and reexaminations to make sure she was comfortable, but over time, the fundaoing to break down the overall effort

"I can’t fix you," he murmured

"What was that?" she snapped "What the hell did you say tohis eyes back to hers "I’m sorry that you were hurt I really am--"

"This is not about Oskar! Don’t you dare try to deflect--"

"Actually, it absolutely is Maybe you’ll figure that out sometime, maybe you won’t But either way, that’s none offor the sins of another Good luck to you Hope you find peace somehow, some way"

He turned away and went for the double doors--and as he calass She was staring after hi, her arms crossed over her chest

Over her heart

If that was not a perfect metaphor for who she was as a person, he didn’t knoas

Letting himself out, he went down the seven snow-packed steps one by one and looked left Then right

He chose a direction rando his hands in the pockets of his fleece He hadn’t bothered to put on a parka, and he’d left his duffel bag back in the locker roo center by mistake The cold didn’t bother hiht of a wounded ani to save its life

All just part of the tragedy, though Wasn’t it