Rebel North by J.B. Salsbury
Twenty-Nine
Gabriella
I wish I could say I lost count of how many days it’s been since I last saw Kingston, but that would be a lie.
It’s been thirty-four days.
I thought that as time passed, I’d think of him less. I thought his betrayal would burn worse every day until, eventually, it would burn out, and I’d forget him completely. Unfortunately, the very opposite plagues me.
I have so many questions, and I can’t trust him to tell me the truth. I can’t trust my parents to tell me the truth either.
Which is why I had to reach out to the only person who has no reason to lie to me.
From my seat at the window of the coffee shop, I see Ainsley walk up. She hesitates at the door as if second-guessing her agreement to meet me. I hold my breath until she finally pulls open the door. I wave her back, and she keeps her eyes on the floor as she makes her way to me.
I stand to greet her, but we don’t hug or shake hands. The invisible barrier of our shared history stands between us. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course.” She orders a latte, and we talk about the good weather and how our favorite breakfast place went out of business until we run out of small talk.
“Ainsley, I was hoping you could answer some questions about the night of my accident.”
Her face pales, but she nods.
“I got the story up until I fell in, but everything after that I have no memory of.”
She sips her latte and carefully sets down the mug with shaky hands.
“Can you tell me what happened that night?”
“It was my fault,” she says with her face turned down to her mug.
My heart drops into my gut at the certainty of her voice. “What do you mean?”
Her gaze meets mine. “He wanted you. You weren’t even trying to get his attention, but he wanted you anyway.” She takes in a breath through her nose and blows it out. “He wanted you over me.”
“Kingston.” My lungs squeeze around my heart, making it ache.
Her eyes fill with tears. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I just wanted to embarrass you in front of him.”
My molars slam together.
“He was driving, and he kept asking you to go sit with him. You were so scared. You were holding on so tight.” Her words come out in a rush as if her heart’s been desperate to purge them. “You stood up to go sit with him, and I slid my foot out to trip you.”
“Jesus…” I whisper.
Her cheeks are streaked with tears. “If he hadn’t turned the boat at that very second, you would’ve just stumbled. I didn’t mean for you to fall over.”
I grip my head and rub my temples. “You could’ve killed me all because you were jealous?”
“I’m sorry, okay? I told your parents I’d do whatever it took to make it up to you. I told them I wanted to make things right.”
“Tell me the rest of the story.” I sound robotic and hardly recognize my own voice.
“Kingston found you. He had his friend call the Coast Guard, and he gave you mouth-to-mouth until they got there. He tried to stop the bleeding, held his shirt to your neck, and threatened the paramedics for attempting to take over. He wouldn’t leave your side until they rushed you into surgery—”
“Is that it?” I don’t know how much more of this I can listen to, but I know this is the last time I’ll see Ainsley and my last chance to learn my story.
“I tried to visit you at the hospital, but your parents wouldn’t let me see you. They were right to blame me for what happened. They told me if I tried to contact you, they’d call their lawyers. I was so afraid of losing my spot at Julliard and of my family finding out that I did what they asked. But I haven’t lived a single day since without the memory of what I did and all I took from you.”
“I think I’ve heard enough.” I grab my purse and stand to leave.
“I’m sorry, okay? You need to know I am so sorry, Gabby.” She swipes at her nose and her mascara-smudged eyes.
“I know you are. So am I.” I leave a crying Ainsley in the coffee shop.
My head swims with this new information.
Kingston saved me.
But this doesn’t change the fact that he lied about us knowing each other. Doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a liar and a thief.
He robbed me of my memories, and then he stole my heart.