“I know. You’re right.” He sighs and leans in. “But maybe don’t spiral over your ex in a greasy bar.”
I glare at him. “I am not spiraling. And if I am, at least half of it is because of you.”
The margaritas arrive. They are aggressively green.
Patrick takes a sip. Makes a face. “Okay. That’s…chemical.”
When the server comes back to take our order, I ask for a hard cider.
Tully laughs again across the room, and the sound threads through the noise straight to me. His sister leans over to show him something on her phone, their heads almost touching. It makes me miss my brother and sister.
“Are you sure you want to stay?” Patrick asks, reaching for my hand. “I’m sorry I made the wrong choice in bringing you here.”
I’m still mad at him, but I remind myself that we’ve had some amazing times. I told myself I’d give him a chance. I’m just so confused right now.
“We’re here,” I say. “Let’s stay.”
Something in his expression shifts—he’s tired, maybe, or more likely frustrated with me. He leans back in his chair and takes another sip of the radioactive margarita.
“Cool,” he says sarcastically. “Let’s just be in a foul mood while we’re on vacation.”
Okay, I take it all back.
“You’re seriously giving me attitude after what you’ve done?”
He groans. “I didn’t know it’d give you an excuse to be impossible. I’m really trying here, and I wish you’d meet me halfway.”
“I need to go home. It was a mistake coming here. I thought we could fix us.”
He leans in. “No. Come on. Please. You deserve a break. You’ve been working so hard. Even if you decide you don’t want to be with me anymore…can’t we stay friends?”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. I do want to stay friends. I think maybe that’s what we should’ve always been.”
His jaw clenches. “Don’t say that.”
“You know what? I think I need to go back to the room. I need a little space. Stay here and eat. We can talk later.”
“You need to eat,” he says. “Come on. Stay. I’ll cooperate.”
I shake my head. “It’s too weird to have this conversation here.”
He nods but looks conflicted. “All right. Do you want me to bring any food back?”
I shake my head. “I’m not that hungry anyway.”
“Do you still wanna do Elm & Echo later?” he asks.
“Um—”
“Go rest. No pressure. Think about things. I’ll see you later.” He gives me a sad smile, and I stand.
“Okay. See you later.” I grab my purse and force myself not to turn back to see Tully one more time.
It’s the perfect day for a walk.
The resort isn’t far from The Loon. I need the air and the quiet.
Except a few seconds in, I pull my phone from my pocket and hit my sister’s name.