Chapter 33

“Seb, look, bottom line is, I wanna make a break. I wanna at least try. Jesus, this duplicity is more than I can take.”

“Yeah…okay. I get that.”

Could I cut loose from here and take a chance with Ryan to start somewhere new, where we could be ourselves? I was twenty-two years old. Maybe it was time to grow up. But first, I needed to know where I stood. “So, are you saying that—that you see yourself living with me down there? I mean, am I the one you—”

“Yeah, sure. Sure.” Ryan sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees. He hadn’t even let me finish my sentence. “Why not. We get along. You’re real smooth.”

He meant, easy, I supposed. Yes, people always said that about me. I was easy to get along with. Quiet. Conciliatory.

Low maintenance. Like a good car.

But none of them had ever bothered paying attention to all those words I was too scared to say. There was a part of me I needed so badly to offer, but where was the taker?