-Blake West:
The bathroom walls felt like they were closing in on me. My palms pressed flat against the counter, my reflection in the mirror blurred with tears I tried so hard to blink away. I had heard every single word Zade said to Kayla. Brother. That's what I was to him. Not Blake, not someone he could look at the way I—pathetically—looked at him when he wasn't paying attention. No, just another brother figure, folded neatly into the same category as Ian and Chris.
I wanted to laugh at myself, but it came out more like a choked sob. That was why I kicked them both out, masking it with a joke so Zade wouldn't see how torn up I actually was. He didn't need to see me like that—pathetic, small, hurting. I locked myself in and slid to the cold tiled floor, pulling my knees against my chest until the ache in my lungs from crying turned into exhaustion. Eventually, sleep stole me away.
