Hardcore: Volume 2 by Staci Hart

Author:Staci Hart [Hart, Staci]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Promise Socks Publishing
Published: 2015-02-24T05:00:00+00:00

When I reached the top of Logan Tower, I walked the length of the roof with my chest heaving and hands hung on my hips, looking out over Manhattan with the setting sun against my face. The sky was a gradient of colors, from the blazing oranges and yellows at the horizon to the rich purples of what would soon be night. The high, flat clouds were pink and yellow, and my eyes feasted on one of those rare sunsets that left you wondering how it could possibly be real.

I wasn’t sure why I’d gone there again. To say goodbye, maybe. To let him go. To put the whole thing behind me so I could do what I needed to do without breaking. I didn’t know when everything had gotten so out of hand, and I traced my choices backwards until I could see the whole thing for what it was.

All the things I’d spent my life running from had finally caught up with me.

Everyone thought I was strong, and when it came to my body, I was. I was fearless. Physical pain was nothing. And I could always be strong for Jill because taking care of her, being there for her was easy. Being strong for myself was another thing entirely. When it came to my heart, I was terrified. Locking it away was easier than risking it. It was a fact proved by my feelings for Van.

Erin was right. I didn’t tell the truth because I didn’t want to be rejected, not again. My parents were the first, the ones who ingrained in me that I wasn’t worth keeping. Jill would reject me if she knew the truth, just like Van. Erin was the only one who was safe because I never committed to more, and she never asked for more.

I lied to them to protect myself. You can’t be rejected if you don’t care, so I tried not to care about anything. But that was the biggest lie of all.

“Cory?”

Van’s voice tore through my body, the shock of it almost paralyzing. I turned to find him standing behind me, drenched in sweat, face bent in confusion and disbelief. The fading sunlight shone on him, painting him gold, his skin glistening like he was made of stardust.

“I…” My words were a pile-up in my throat as we stared at each other.

He forced the emotion from his face, but I could see him fighting for composure. I couldn’t even do that much.

Van climbed up next to me, and we sat in silence together with our eyes on the horizon.

His eyes didn’t leave the sky when he asked a quiet question, only in part to me. “Why am I so hung up on you?”

The sun reflected off buildings in brilliant colors, and I couldn’t look at him, couldn’t let him see me. I didn’t have any more answers to that question than he did. “I’ve been asking myself the same thing.”

He threaded his fingers in his lap. “You’re right, you know.

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