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“Please—”

“Stop interrupting, Liver” He looked up at me and smiled a little more

“Sorry” I pushedback and forth

“When I saw you at Ford’s—” He broke off and sed, staring down at his hand “I lost it”

I resisted the urge to apologize again, and let him say what he needed to say

“But you don’t owejust because I like you Just because I’ve always liked you doesn’t uy’ assholes who turns on a dis aren’t returned”

“I know”

“No, you don’t, but that’s how I felt I was so angry at both of you, so hurt”

The pain in his voice frayed the edges of my resolve, and I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut when he looked up at me

“But that was as much to do with me as it ith you two I knew you didn’t feel the same way about me that I felt about you I’ve known that since the first day on the playground when I gave up edwhen I saw ht ood we could be together, but I knew fro you up like it did for me”

My throat tightened, and I blinked back the moisture in my eyes “I’m sorry”

He shrugged “It’s not like I can force you to care about me”

My hand shot out, and I grabbed his arm “I do care about you Of course I do”

“Just not that way”

I stared into his eyes NoNo aze to the frozen wood chips on the ground “It would have been so much easier if I did”