With a sigh, I scrubbed my face with my hands. I felt like I was trapped in a cage. No matter what I did, no matter what decision I made, someone was going to get hurt. One of my relationships—either mine with Kiera, or mine with the guys—was going to be forever altered after this moment. It made me want to slug something. Or start sobbing. Everything had been going so well…why did this have to happen now? Now, when I wanted time to freeze.

But still, at the very least, I owed the guys a conversation with my girlfriend. Slumping in my chair, I shook my head in defeat. Then I weakly looked up at them and nodded. “Okay, I’ll talk to her, then I’ll let you know.”

I felt like I weighed a thousand pounds as I stood up and faced Kiera. Another weary sigh escaped me when our eyes met. I told the guys I’d be right back, then I began slowly trudging toward her. There was no way she was going to be okay with this. No way on Earth.

Kiera kind of looked like she wanted to run as I approached her, and the bar was deathly quiet. Everyone was aware something major was happening, they just didn’t know what. I couldn’t look Kiera in the eye when I finally reached her. Keeping my head down, I woodenly asked, “Can I talk to you…” I forced my eyes to her face, my entire body was rigid with tension, “…outside?”

She looked like she wanted to say no, but she nodded. I grabbed her hand, then led her out of the silent bar to the parking lot. Fear and anxiety made me drop her fingers the moment we were outside. It was dark now, just on the verge of being chilly. It matched my mood. As my eyes ceaselessly scanned the lot, I tried to think of what to say to her. How could I knowingly break her heart? Watching her fall apart when Denny left was suddenly fresh in my mind. I couldn’t hurt her like that. I just…couldn’t. And how could I possibly leave her anyway? Leave her to fall for someone else. She was my entire fucking world. I wouldn’t survive if she…replaced me.

“Kellan?” she asked, her voice trembling with worry.

Realizing I was already hurting her by my silence, I turned to face her. I cupped her cheek with a sigh. “I need to tell you something, and I don’t know where to start,” I confessed.

Her eyes searched mine, the fear in them evident. “Just tell me, because you’re really starting to scare me.”