Page 158 - It Ends with Us

I purse my lips toget her and wrap my arm over my ches t, grabbing

at my el bow. “Yes . Tha t’s why I didn’t want to go back, R yle. I didn’t
want to run int o hi m.”
My ans wer seems to rel ea se a little of hi s tens ion. He runs a ha nd
down his face. “Did you tel l hi m wha t ha ppened last ni ght? Did you
tel l hi m about our fig ht ?”
I take a step for ward and sha ke my hea d adamant ly. “No. He

assumed . He saw my ey e and your ha nd and he just assumed .”
He blows out a laden brea th and lea ns hi s hea d back, looking up at
the roof. It looks like it’s almost too painf ul for hi m to ev en ask the
nex t ques tion.
“Why were you alone with hi m in the bathro om?”
I take ano ther step for ward. “He followed me in there. I kno w
no thi ng about hi m no w, R yle. I didn’t ev en kno w he owned tha t

res taurant , I tho ught he was just a waiter. He’s no t a part of my life
any more, I swea r. He just . . .” I fold my arms toget her and drop my
voice. “We both grew up in abusive ho useho lds. He saw my face and
your ha nd and . . . he was just worri ed for me. Tha t’s all it was.”
R yle bring s hi s ha nd s up and covers hi s mouth. I can hea r the air
rushi ng thro ugh hi s fing ers as he rel ea ses hi s brea th. He stand s up

straight , allowing hi msel f a moment to soak in all I’ve just said.
“My turn, ” he says.
He pushes off the car and takes the three step s toward me tha t
prev iously sep arated us. He puts both ha nd s on my cheek s and looks
me dea d in the ey es . “If you don’t want to be with me . . . plea se tel l
me right no w, Lily. Bec ause when I saw you with hi m . . . tha t hu r t. I
nev er want to feel tha t again. And if it hu rts thi s much no w, I’m

terri fied to thi nk of wha t it could do to me a yea r from no w.”
I can feel the tea rs beg in to strea m down my cheek s. I place my
ha nd s on top of hi s and sha ke my hea d. “I don’t want any one el se,
R yle. I onl y want you.”
He forces the saddes t smile I’ve ev er seen on a hu man. He pulls me
to hi m and ho lds me there. I wrap my arms around hi m as tight as I

can as he pres ses hi s lips to the side of my hea d.
“I love you, Lily. God, I love you.”
I squeez e hi m tight , pres sing a kiss to hi s sho ulder. “I love you,
too.”