Page 17 of Set It Right
Cormac and Jackson being roommates that first year had only rubbed salt in the wound. I’d started hanging out at their place regularly, and Cormac had made himself scarce. I’d noticed—how could I not have?—but I didn’t do or say anything about it.
Seeing where I’d gone wrong was easy.
I’d chosen a new and exciting boy over all my plans for myself and a friendship that had meant the world to me.
“Huh.”
“What was that?” Zane asked. “It sounded like a honk.”
“No.” I rubbed the center of my forehead. “That was me realizing what a craptastic friend I was in college.”
“Hmm.”
I sat up. “What wasthatsound?”
“Oh, nothing,” he replied airily.
“Okay…but normally if I say something bad about myself, you argue with me.”
“Only if you’re wrong.”
Silence stretched thick between us.
“Zane…” I whispered.
“Zara,” he sighed. “I wasn’t a fan of who you were with Jackson. You turned into a trad-wife zombie. Everything became ‘Jackson says.’ It made me wonder if there was anything left that was just you. I’d thought I’d lost you.”
My chest ached, and I blinked my burning eyes a few times. This didn’t feel good to hear, but I needed it. I never wanted to become that person again.
“I’d thought I’d lost myself too.”
“And look at you now,” he said gently, “being the most Zara you can be. Seeing yourself now, can you even imagine the Zara you were a year ago?”
“She’d be so jealous.”
“Hell yes she would. You’re doing this thing, baby, and I know you’re going to be just fine.”
“You think?”
He sighed. “Didn’t you hear me? I said Iknow. Trust me. I’m your big brother.”
We hung up, and I sat in the quiet, fresh air drifting through the open window. My muscles were sore, my heart felt tender and raw, but underneath it all, a fresh, green bud was breaking free.
I wasn’t quite found, but I wasn’t lost anymore either.
And maybe some things didn’t have to stay broken simply because too much time had passed.
Chapter Eight
Cormac
Mrs.Kellerleanedheavilyon my arm. “Oh, darling, are you certain we can’t share a saddle?”
“I’m very certain. If I could bend the rules, I would,” I promised, not meaning it in the least. There was no universe in which I’d willingly share a saddle with this woman, but she didn’t need to know that.
She sighed, her long nails clutching my forearm as we strolled toward the barn. “Oh, Cormac, I know you would. You’re such a good boy.”
“I have every confidence in your ability to handle your horse. You know these trails like the back of your hand.”
