Page 114 of Fight For Me

Oh, he’ssad. I should probably feel spitefully happy about that—God knows he made me plenty sad—but I just can’t bring myself to feel anything other than sorry for him.

My dad turns, his jaw clenching tight when he sees me standing on the bottom step. “Go back upstairs.”

“I think I’ll pass. Too much estrogen up there.”

He scowls. “Don’t you try to be cute, young lady.”

I’m not very successful at fighting my smile. My dad’s never really done the stern parent thing before and he’s not very good at it. “Young lady?” I say. “Really, Dad?”

His jaw clenches again and he glares at me. Just when I think he’s going to demand I leave, he spins around, getting close to Wyatt’s face. “I’m never going to be okay with this. You’re too old for her. She deserves better.”

Wyatt flinches like Dad slapped him, and my heart clenches. This is just what he was afraid of. But he stands tall, keeping eye contact with my dad.

“I think we agree on that,” he finally says softly. “She deserves way better.”

My heart sinks. Was I stupid to have gotten my hopes up that he was here to make things right? What if he just wants to apologize again?

Dad glares at him for another long minute before he turns and stomps out of the foyer. He must go into the kitchen, because I once again hear the sound of cabinets slamming.More stress baking,I think bleakly.At least Mom will be happy.

Wyatt is still standing in the doorway, staring at me. I realize belatedly that I’m dressed in baggy old sweatpants with holes in the knee and my hair is braided on only one side. But he doesn’t look like he cares very much. His eyes rake over me and there’s something greedy in them, like he’s desperate to take me in, like he’s soaking up the sight of me.

“Hi,” I murmur.

His smile is so sad it hurts my heart. “Hi. Can I come in?”

I nod and he steps through the doorway to stand in the foyer. He leaves the door open behind him, though, like he’s not planning to stay long. My heart gives another painful clench.

“I just wanted to tell you a few things,” he says. “If that’s all right with you.”

“Go ahead.”

He nods a few times, like he’s gearing himself up. “So first of all, I really fucked up with Scott.”

I frown. Scott is definitely not the first topic I thought we’d be discussing. “How?”

Wyatt takes a deep breath. “He told me at the grand opening that they had more footage of us. I thought he was bluffing.” Wyatt shakes his head. “I was so stupid. I figured at worst is was going to be more bullshit editing, you know?’

I nod, feeling slightly sick. Wyatt’s guilty eyes meet mine.

“He wanted me to convince you to sign the contract.” There’s a gasp behind me—Everly—and I suddenly remember that the girls are still at the top of the stairs.

“He could tell you weren’t really on board. He even told me that he knew the show was stressful for you and causing you not to sleep.” He shakes his head, anger flashing in his eyes. “I told him to fuck off.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He looks at me like I’m nuts. “I wasn’t going to put that on you. You already try to do too much for everyone else, Alex. There was no way I was going to give you another reason to feel like you had to do the show.”

“Even if it meant no one would find out about us?”

He frowns. “That wasn’t my priority.”

My poor, bedraggled heart gives a little shimmy in my chest. I wonder if he realizes how important this is. As afraid as he’s been this whole time, he still didn’t even consider doing the thing that would allow him to keep us under wraps. Because it would hurt me. And whether he realizes it or not, he cares more about me than he does about protecting our secret.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he says, his voice a little harsh.

“Like what?”

“Like I did something good. I should have gone to my dad the second he made that threat. I should have come clean with everyone so he didn’t have any power over us. I fucked up.”