“Wait. What?” She moved forward again, and I retreated, keeping our little dance. “Morgan, I never said he wasn’t meant to be yours. I would never discourage your dream. God, we all saw the way he looked at you, the way you drove him crazy. I knew that if anyone could break through that shell he kept around his soul, it would be you. It would have been you.”

I scoffed and shook my head as the horrid, disgusting feelings I tried so hard to overcome overruled my genuine love for my best friend. “So you didn’t stand over Will’s body and tell Josh that Will was where he was meant to be?”

Her widened eyes focused on Josh. “I…”

“What was it you said?” I tilted my head at my best friend. “He’s with Peyton. Right? And he could have gone on to get married and have a family, but no love would ever compare to what he felt for her. I hear those words every time I see your face.” They tasted like acid and ate away at what emotional defenses I had intact. I’d only ever spoken them to Dr. Circe.

“Fuck,” Josh hissed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his shorts.

“Morgan, that was…you were…” Paisley shook her head and glanced around our group like they’d give her the answer.

“What? Private? Do you honestly think anything in this group is private?” I accused. “Ember heard you, remember? And she got understandably upset because Josh wasn’t talking to her about what had happened over there, but he’d somehow managed to talk to you, right? So Ember called Sam for a little support, and Sam happened to be in my hotel suite checking on me.”

“Oh, shit,” Sam cursed. “I never meant for you to hear that.”

“I know,” I told her softly. “You were in the living room because I could barely pull myself out of bed, and you put it on speaker because Ember wanted Grayson’s point of view, too. I’ve never blamed you. I wouldn’t have made it through any of this without you.”

Her lips pursed as she struggled to compose herself, but she managed a nod.

“I didn’t mean that he wouldn’t have been able to love you,” Paisley swore.

“But not as much as Peyton,” I countered. “Just because my last name isn’t Donovan doesn’t mean I wasn’t capable of making him happy.”

“I didn’t think that!”

“You didn’t think of me at all,” I countered. “He was called home to your sister, right? Now they finally had a chance to be happy. That’s what you said.” My eyes stung, and my vision wobbled through the sheen of gathering tears.

Her lower lip trembled.