Whit walks into my office, and I grimace. I’ve been dreading this. It’s not like I’ve been subtle about hiding from her. This is the first time I’ve even come back to the damn bowling alley in over a week, and I’ve had my office locked for most of the day.
“We need to talk,” she says, shutting the door without waiting for an answer.
She takes a seat in front of my desk, and I pause on the manuscript I’m working on to give her my attention.
“Why did you move to Hayden?” she asks bluntly.
Shit.
He’s told her.
“Because my dad’s house was going to be sold to my stepmother’s son if I didn’t buy it. It… It was just wrong to let it go to someone who was going to turn back around and sell to someone else just to get around the will stipulations. That house means a lot to me and my brother.”
Okay, so just to me, but Aidan likes it enough for it not to be an outright lie.
She studies me for a long, intense moment. “So this isn’t about getting back Chase? He told me you took his virginity.”
I wince. Hearing it worded so emotionlessly with such blunt force takes away from how special I once thought it was.
“It’s not real, Mika. It’s just the way your mind has processed the physical contact. It triggers too much irrationality. None of it is real. Breathe in. Breathe out. Now tell me about Kyle. Was he your last? Did you have any feelings for him at all?”
“No. I didn’t even like him.”
“But you still had—”
“Mika?” Whit’s voice draws me back to the present and out of my dark memories, reminding me we’re having a serious conversation.
“I thought he’d left Hayden. The last update I saw on his Facebook page was that he was moving. Then he shut down social media, so I assumed he didn’t want anything tethering him to this place after his mother died.”
She blinks a few times. “So you two have kept in touch?”
I shake my head slowly. “I checked in on his profile when I could… I was concerned, not creepy.” I was definitely creepy, obsessed, and slightly cyber-stalker-ish, but I’m not letting her know that. “The public posts are all I saw since we weren’t ‘friends’ or anything. Saw some posts on his page after his mom’s death, then the post about him leaving. Then he was gone.”
Her eyes soften. “So why come back?”
“Because it was finally safe to come back,” I grumble. “Or so I thought. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m here now, and I’ve already spent a chunk of money restoring this place and my house. But I completely understand if you can’t handle working for me. If I had known, I wouldn’t have hired you. I promise.”
She frowns as she leans closer. “Then I’m glad you didn’t know. This is my dream job. I’d like to keep it.” She swallows nervously while toying with her skirt. “It is weird though. I could tell you meant something to him when he was trying to play it off. I’ve never been around any of his exes before. I’m not sure how we should behave.”
Even though my heart feels like there are stones in it, I manage to smile.
“We behave like mature women. You have him. I don’t. I don’t want him. Trust me, Whit, I really don’t want him back. He burned that bridge.”
Her lips tense, and she fingers a lock of her pretty blonde hair. “He said he ended it.”
“He lied,” I sigh. “He didn’t end it at all. He just shut me out and pretended I didn’t exist. I had to find out it was over on my own, and it was a very painful experience. I hope he’s outgrown that tactic of breaking up with a girl.”
I aim for joking, but it comes out bitter. Whit doesn’t bat an eye.
“That’s shitty. Sorry. He didn’t elaborate. It was like pulling teeth to get that much.” She shifts awkwardly before quietly adding, “He hates summer, and you were his summer girl.”
Yeah, I wish she hadn’t told me that.
“It was intense,” I say with a sad smile.
“Those were his words too,” she sighs. “I feel… I don’t know. I feel a little inferior to you. You took his virginity and now you’re here, and he’s pissed. He hates summers, and I’ve never known why until you…”
“Don’t feel that way.” I snort derisively. “You look like a model, Whit. You’re beyond beautiful. You’re also smart, sweet, incredibly strong… We had our moment in time back when I was young and stupid. At the end of the day, we burned out.”
“She’s burning out. She’s sleeping more and more. I don’t want her here. You’re not helping her. If anything you’re hurting her. You have to let her out.”
“Aidan, she can leave anytime she wants. She’s served her time here, but she’s refusing to leave. It’s not up to us.”
“You’re the assholes inside her head and making her believe she can’t survive outside these walls. That’s it! I’m getting a court order. I’m over this bullshit. You’re fucking with her head and letting her make the decisions when she’s not capable of it.”