26. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Devon

It took a lot of convincing to knock on his door and ask him to watch a movie with me, but I’m glad I did. After sitting in the theatre alone, I realized I didn’t hate what happened between us. Something clicked when he kissed me. We’ve both done a lot of growing up since we were together. We’ve both made mistakes.

Tatum has always been difficult. He’s always had a temper. It’s how he deals with his pain. So maybe something happened that night he left me at the party, something too painful to talk about. He handled it the only way he knew how—by pushing me away. That’s okay; I can forgive him for that. If we can start fresh and move on now, that’ll be helpful for my mental health. It’s exactly what I need to put this thing to rest. So, I’m offering him an olive branch in the form of my kindness for the rest of the time I’m here. And not just here at his penthouse, but here until I leave.

I know I made that decision already and had a few setbacks, but something about the kiss has me feeling different. Moving forward, there will be nothing but care and understanding for Tate. I won’t let him bring out those ugly parts of me. I’ll shower him with the best parts.

Tatum needs someone to be nice to him. To not give in to his anger. To show him that there are nice people out there who will forgive him and love him even when he’s hard to love. So, while I’m still in the state of Michigan—well, and Illinois too, I guess—I’m going to be nice to Tatum no matter what it takes. No more fighting. No more arguing. No more pressing for answers. It’s obviously too hard for him. I’ve accepted that.

Even though there can’t be anything between us in the long run, we can forge a friendship. A truce. Something between enemies and lovers. What that looks like for us, I don’t quite know yet. All I know is that I don’t like being mean to Tatum, no matter what he’s doing to me.

He sits beside me on the couch, and I snuggle up to him, like I used to do when we were younger.

“What is this all about, Devon?” he asks carefully. He shifts away, so I sit up and turn to face him, making sure the blankets stay tucked around me. They make me feel safe.

“I know you’ve been through a lot in your life, Tate, and maybe I pushed you too hard too many times. Whatever happened with us, it’s in the past. I want to move forward. Make amends. We’re stuck here together for another day, we may as well make the best of it, right?”

I offer him a simple smile, hoping he understands that I’m being genuine.

He frowns. “You’re serious? After everything I did to you?”

I can’t blame him for questioning me on this. Any sane person would .

“I forgive you for all of that. I thought about it, and you must’ve been hurting. I knew this about you, and I should have put it all together before, but I was angry. I let my own feelings get in the way, and that wasn’t fair. By buying me, you did me a huge favor.”

Not only did he save me from giving my virginity away to some creep, but he’s the reason I have the money to leave. That alone is enough of a reason to forgive what he’s done to me, even if I can never tell him the truth about it.

“So, what? Are you saying you want things to go back to the way they were? You want us to date?”

I sigh, shifting in my seat before answering him.

“We were very different people then. We were kids. We’re adults now. We hardly know one another. What I’m saying is we’re here for one more day, let’s see how things go. Things will be different when we leave this bubble. That’s how it always goes, right? When we’re back in the real world, you’ll go back to being your grumpy self. I’ve accepted that’s who you are out there, but I want you to know that moving forward, I’m here for you. No matter what it is you need, I’m here.”

He frowns, but after a moment, nods slowly, as if it doesn’t make sense but he’ll agree to it. I’d considered telling him I’m moving away, but now that the words are about to leave my mouth, I can’t do it. Tatum has no loyalty to me. He will certainly tell Dane, so I can’t share this with him. Maybe I’ll tell Tatum before I leave or maybe I won’t.

“So, while we’re here…” he says, looking for clarification.

“I’d like to get to know you again. The you you are when you’re with me. I always got the best parts of you, Tate, and I’d like to see that again before this is over. Maybe even after we leave? We aren’t getting any younger.”

Again, he nods, then turns his attention to the TV. I watch him for another moment, wondering if he’s going to say something, but he doesn’t. He just keeps watching the screen, so I do the same. I lean against him again, and this time he doesn’t move away—he does nothing to cuddle more, either. He just sits there and lets me do my thing.

It’s weird to think just a short time ago he was kissing me like I was the air he needed to breathe. I’m definitely overthinking all of this stuff with Tate, and it’s clear he’s as confused as I am. Maybe I’m looking to Tate for answers he doesn’t have. I can’t expect him to have everything figured out, right? If I’m confused, he probably is too. Things with us haven’t been easy. And Tate didn’t have a healthy family growing up. He doesn’t know how to talk about his feelings. He bottles them up until he can’t contain them, then he gets angry. Both of his parents abandoned him. He has no one to lean on. Everyone who was supposed to be there for him, wasn’t.

I have no idea what the future holds for either of us, but I’m certain whatever it is, we’re doing it separately. I’m okay with that.