interacting with him made her feel a bit crazy. It wasn’t so
bad when Carey was there to act as a buffer. The irony of the role reversal
didn’t escape her. Carey had never been the one she went to for comfort or
understanding.
“I’ve
been better.”
The
hint of sadness she picked up on cut through her internal cluster-fuck. He’d
suffered atrocities straight out of Saw in life, only to come back to
warn them and be tortured in the process.
“What’s
wrong?” Whatever form he took he was still Clark, her best friend and the potential
love of her life that got away. She couldn’t let him bleed out if she could
patch the wound. She walked over to stand beside the six-foot-one male. Reaching
out a hand, she stopped millimeters from touching his arm, snatching it back
before it made contact. Can I even touch him?
“We’ve
left things unsaid between us for far too long.”
No,
please don’t do thi,s Clark. It’ll make your leaving even more painful.
“Don’t.”
“I’m
sorry, Savannah. I have to.” He used my full name— he isn’t going to back
down.
“Go
ahead. I’m listening.”
“There
were things I kept from you, Vannah. I was afraid.”
“Why?
You were my best friend. Nothing you said would’ve made me see you any
differently.”
“Don’t
be so sure.”
“Clark.
You’re scaring me.”
He
gave her a small smile, ran a finger down the side of her face. The touch was
real albeit a little cool. She closed her eyes, leaned into savor the feel of
his flesh against her own with a chill that had nothing to do with temperature.
She opened her eyes only to be snared by the blue-green jewels full to the brim
with emotion. This is so wrong.
“I
love you.”
Her
mouth flopped open and closed. “Wait—what?”
“I
should’ve told you back then. I hid it for years. Played the best friend when
what I wanted to be was your everything, I knew we were meant to be after your eighteenth
birthday. You were wearing this peach dress that stopped at your knees. It took
my breath away. Jason Mclaren was giving you the eye the whole party. The
minute you turned your attention to someone else I took him aside and pretty
much told him if he even tried to talk to you Carey and I would make his life …
unpleasant.”
“Clark,”
she gasped. Her pulse raced. Joy bubbled to the surface like the fizz in soda.
“You
stole my heart somewhere along the way growing up. I could never give it to
another. Who could be a better match for me, Savannah? We finished each other’s
sentences. Didn’t hide a thing from one another. It was a rarity that I took
for granted. I just… I didn’t want to risk losing what we had.”
“I
felt the same.” Her admission lifted the heavy boulder off her chest.
“Felt?”
The
wounded expression that crossed his face cracked open a door inside she’d
chained shut. She clossed the inches of space that divided them and cupped his
cool face in her hand. “I will always love you, Clark. You and I were soul-deep.
When you were gone I became a piece of driftwood lost in the ocean of life. I
had to rebuild myself from the ground up. I hurt a lot of people that way but
it was what I had to do to survive. Now you’re back and I can’t help but wonder
what I’m going to do when you’re leave.” Her voice cracked. Her bottom lip
quivered.
“How
can we miss out on a second opportunity because of fear? That’s what robbed us
in the first place.”
She
pulled away. “What do you want me to do?” It seemed wrong to say “when
you’re dead”. Yet the words spun around in her head.
Her
phone rang out like the ding of a bell ending the round of a prizefight.
“I
have to get that.”
“Yeah.”
Clark stepped back and released a deep breath. As he paced the length of the
room, his nervous energy set her on edge.
She
picked up the phone. “Speak.”
“Jeez.
You need sleep more than I thought.”
“Carey?”
“I
just wanted to make sure you got home
bad when Carey was there to act as a buffer. The irony of the role reversal
didn’t escape her. Carey had never been the one she went to for comfort or
understanding.
“I’ve
been better.”
The
hint of sadness she picked up on cut through her internal cluster-fuck. He’d
suffered atrocities straight out of Saw in life, only to come back to
warn them and be tortured in the process.
“What’s
wrong?” Whatever form he took he was still Clark, her best friend and the potential
love of her life that got away. She couldn’t let him bleed out if she could
patch the wound. She walked over to stand beside the six-foot-one male. Reaching
out a hand, she stopped millimeters from touching his arm, snatching it back
before it made contact. Can I even touch him?
“We’ve
left things unsaid between us for far too long.”
No,
please don’t do thi,s Clark. It’ll make your leaving even more painful.
“Don’t.”
“I’m
sorry, Savannah. I have to.” He used my full name— he isn’t going to back
down.
“Go
ahead. I’m listening.”
“There
were things I kept from you, Vannah. I was afraid.”
“Why?
You were my best friend. Nothing you said would’ve made me see you any
differently.”
“Don’t
be so sure.”
“Clark.
You’re scaring me.”
He
gave her a small smile, ran a finger down the side of her face. The touch was
real albeit a little cool. She closed her eyes, leaned into savor the feel of
his flesh against her own with a chill that had nothing to do with temperature.
She opened her eyes only to be snared by the blue-green jewels full to the brim
with emotion. This is so wrong.
“I
love you.”
Her
mouth flopped open and closed. “Wait—what?”
“I
should’ve told you back then. I hid it for years. Played the best friend when
what I wanted to be was your everything, I knew we were meant to be after your eighteenth
birthday. You were wearing this peach dress that stopped at your knees. It took
my breath away. Jason Mclaren was giving you the eye the whole party. The
minute you turned your attention to someone else I took him aside and pretty
much told him if he even tried to talk to you Carey and I would make his life …
unpleasant.”
“Clark,”
she gasped. Her pulse raced. Joy bubbled to the surface like the fizz in soda.
“You
stole my heart somewhere along the way growing up. I could never give it to
another. Who could be a better match for me, Savannah? We finished each other’s
sentences. Didn’t hide a thing from one another. It was a rarity that I took
for granted. I just… I didn’t want to risk losing what we had.”
“I
felt the same.” Her admission lifted the heavy boulder off her chest.
“Felt?”
The
wounded expression that crossed his face cracked open a door inside she’d
chained shut. She clossed the inches of space that divided them and cupped his
cool face in her hand. “I will always love you, Clark. You and I were soul-deep.
When you were gone I became a piece of driftwood lost in the ocean of life. I
had to rebuild myself from the ground up. I hurt a lot of people that way but
it was what I had to do to survive. Now you’re back and I can’t help but wonder
what I’m going to do when you’re leave.” Her voice cracked. Her bottom lip
quivered.
“How
can we miss out on a second opportunity because of fear? That’s what robbed us
in the first place.”
She
pulled away. “What do you want me to do?” It seemed wrong to say “when
you’re dead”. Yet the words spun around in her head.
Her
phone rang out like the ding of a bell ending the round of a prizefight.
“I
have to get that.”
“Yeah.”
Clark stepped back and released a deep breath. As he paced the length of the
room, his nervous energy set her on edge.
She
picked up the phone. “Speak.”
“Jeez.
You need sleep more than I thought.”
“Carey?”
“I
just wanted to make sure you got home
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