Hate to Love You novel · Chapter 13 of 24

Chapter 13: Why

"Because you were the first person in that building who wasn't choosing a side," Shay said.

He kept both hands on the steering wheel, though the engine was off.

"Since March, everybody has picked for me," he said.

"Eastlake picked."

"The board picked."

"Ohio picked."

"Even my friends picked, and they picked quietly, by getting busy."

"And I was nobody's side."

"You were a girl in a gray cardigan, trying to disappear into a window."

I almost laughed.

"I didn't want you to like me because you pitied me, or because you hated Mason," he said.

"I wanted you to sit beside me knowing exactly who you were."

"And what if I'd hated you?"

"Then I'd have lost fairly." His mouth tilted. "It was a big risk. I was terrified."

"You sat there for weeks and watched me lie."

"Yes."

"That was cruel, Shay."

"It was selfish," he said. "Cruel would have been telling him."

I turned to the window so he couldn't see my face.

I was angry, and the anger was real.

It also kept running out of fuel.

He had the file in his hands on the first morning and he could have used it a hundred ways.

Instead, he'd spent weeks making sure I got a dry towel.

"You should have told me," I said.

"I know."

"The day in the lab, when you said you'd be a good listener."

"I meant it." He winced. "That's the worst part. I meant every word, and I knew everything already."

I wiped my eyes with the heel of my hand.

"Are you cold?" he said.

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