Page 42 of Wish For Me

“What?”

He picks up the object from his chair, spinning it in his hand. “She ended it. Ended us. Said it isn’t working.”

“Aw, shit. I’m sorry man, Nix.” Part of me wants to ask him if he’s sure. They’ve had their ups and downs before—it’s the main reason most of the family isn’t too thrilled at the seriousness of their relationship. There’s a lot of drama there, which is probably pretty common with a relationship that started when they were still in high school. I kind of figured they’d eventually grow out of the teenage angst stage—if they didn’t break up, first.

“It’s the tour,” he mutters before I can figure out a way to word any of my concerns.

“You think she ended things because the band is opening for Eva?”

“She swears that’s not what it is, that she thinks we’ve just grown apart.” He makes a bitter, scoffing noise. “But that’s bullshit. We’re every bit as close as we’ve always been.” Another long sip of whiskey. “When we’re together, it’s like I know her better than I know myself.”

“Maybe that’s the key, man,” I say gently. “You feel like that when you’re together. But the career you’re working for is going to make that kind of difficult.”

“We’ve done long distance before,” he snaps. “We can make it work. And it’s not like this will be forever. Eventually, we’ll be headlining our own tour, and then she can just come with me.”

I’m not sure if I should point out that following him around on tour might not be the ideal life for someone who wants a career of their own. Our parents make it work, but that was only because our moms had the types of jobs that allowed them to travel. And even then, they got to the point where lots of touring just wasn’t working for their families anymore.

“None of that matters now,” he says, his voice bleeding bitterness. “Apparently she didn’t love me enough to wait.”

“You know she loves you. I highly doubt that’s what this is about.”

“Then what’s it about?” he asks, his voice cracking, and damn do I feel bad for the kid. He passes the object from his pocket back and forth between his hands. My eyes have adjusted to the dark enough to see that it’s a small, square box.

“Nix, what is that?” I ask, even though I think I already know.

He sets it on the arm of my chair and his voice sounds completely empty when he answers. “I was fucking going to propose, Wyatt.”

“Shit, man.”

What else do you say to that? I might think that Nix isn’t mature enough to take that step yet, but what the hell do I know? Maybe he is ready for this. Either way, telling him he’s too young isn’t going to do a damn thing to take away the pain he’s in—especially not when he’s almost the same age his sister was when we got together. Alex was a hell of a lot more mature than Nix, but I’m not going to point that out, either.

“Maybe you guys just need to take some time to think,” I offer. “Everything is so busy. See how things feel when you can really talk, you know? Shit, you’re not even in the same state right now.”

He’s quiet, eyes locked on the ring box between us. “I know what you all think, okay?” He finally mumbles. “You think I’m too young to feel like this.”

“Dude, I never said—”

“I get it, Wyatt. If it was Lyric or Silas saying they wanted to settle down right now, I’d think it was crazy.” He takes another sip from the bottle. It’s at least half empty now. “But I know how I feel. This isn’t just some high school romance. I love her. She’s it.” Suddenly he stands, grabbing the ring box and throwing it as hard as he can out into the dark yard. “I guess I was wrong.”

“Hey.” When he doesn’t respond, I stand and grab his shoulder, pushing him back into the chair. “Listen to me, Nix.”

He rubs at his face, breathing hard, and doesn’t respond.

“Your sister ever tell you what happened when I came home to visit for Silas’s birthday? I kissed her.”

“So?”

“It was two years before we started dating.”

He blinks at me, confused. “I freaked the hell out when we kissed, man. I realized I had all these feelings for her, but I was sure I was too old for her. That I was nowhere near good enough. So I left. And I barely came home for the next two years.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“We weren’tready, Nix. I tried so hard to convince myself that she wasn’t it for me because I thought I was just going to screw up her life if I stuck around. I stayed away because I had to give her that time to try and figure out what she really wanted. But here’s the thing, kid—the minute I got back to town I knew I was just fooling myself. I could deny it as much as I wanted, but I knew deep down that she was it for me.”

“I’m so glad to hear how happy you are in your relationship, Wyatt,” he snaps. “Really helps me. I feel great now.”

I bite back a smile. He sounds so much like his mom when he gets all sarcastic and snippy. “You’re not hearing me, Nix. Being separated wasn’t going to put an end to me and Alex because we were meant to be together. If the same thing is true for you and Sadie, then this won’t be the end. If you’re supposed to be together, you’ll find your way back. It just might not be as soon as you want it to be.”