“Hopefully?You like being stranded on a ride?”
“Well, if it gives us a longer one, I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.”
I catch the twinkling lights of houses along the shore. “I love this view.”
He doesn’t answer right away. “Me too.”
When I glance over, his eyes aren’t on the ocean at all.
The wind whips my hair around, and he reaches up to brush a strand from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek.
“There’s no one here to see us, Brendan. You don’t need to pretend right now.”
“Who said I was pretending?” His hand settles around my shoulder. “I’m saying it because it’s true, Scarlett.”
It feels like we’re the only people up here, floating at the top of the world where no one else can reach us. Up here, suspended between the carnival lights below and the dark sky above, it feels like the rules are different. The questions in my head are finally safe to say out loud.
“Brendan.” I pause, taking a breath to steady myself. “Why didn’t you contact me after Carmen’s accident?”
He stares at me, like he didn’t quite hear right. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“WhatIwanted?” I tilt my head. “You said you regretted what happened.”
“No. I regretted not driving my sister home the night of her accident. But I never regretted what happened that night with you. Not the kiss. Not any of it.”
Thatshouldmake me feel better. But it’s as jarring as being stuck at the top of this Ferris wheel, suspended between then and now.
“Then why did you tell me to go home at the hospital? Was it because I wasn’t good enough to be with you and your family?”
“Tell you to go home?” His brow furrows. “Scarlett, you weren’t even at the hospital.”
“What?” I blink. “I was there all night.”
His frown deepens. “You were in the hospital lobby all night?”
“Until your uncle saw me and told me to go home.” I don’t tell him the rest. How Rafael Marco made me feel like I didn’t belong there. How small I felt when he dismissed me so easily.
Brendan sits up straighter, turning to face me fully. “Scarlett, I never knew you were there.”
I frown, the pieces starting to fall into place. “But then why did your uncle…?” My voice fades as the realization settles over me.
There was no message.
Rafael just took matters into his own hands, dismissing me without asking Brendan. Maybe it was because the family was in crisis and Carmen’s life was hanging in the balance. Nobody was thinking about some high school girl in the lobby waiting around.
Brendan takes my shoulders gently in his hands, his eyes searching mine. “All these years, I thought you didn’t show up. That you just didn’t care. I’d already lost my dad, and we didn’t know if Carmen would make it. My life felt like it was falling apart.” He lets out a breath. “It seemed like when I needed you most, you just walked away.” His jaw clenches. “And now I find out—you thought I asked you to leave?”
“So that’s why you didn’t say goodbye to me,” I say quietly. “Why you never wrote to me while you were in the Marines.”
He nods slowly, and I can see how much this is costing him. “I thought it was what you wanted. And your brother made it clear he didn’t want me around you anymore.”
“Eli?”
“You told him what happened.”
“Actually, he guessed it.” I look down at my hands. “He can read me really well.”
“Makes sense now. He didn’t like the idea that I made a move on his little sister, then promptly ghosted her. That explains why he sent me a text saying I should never contact you again.” He keeps his eyes on the lights below.