The Choice - A Small Town Love Triangle by Piper Phoenix Page A

said wiping at her tears, begging herself to stop crying in front of Sawyer. She’d done this to herself and it was utterly unfair to Sawyer that she was the one crying, not that she meant to.
    “Come on in, you can stay in the guest room,” Sawyer said walking back to his door. Traci didn’t move, “Seriously, it’s fine, come.”
    Traci sniffed again and wiped at her tears smudging her mascara even more than it already was. Reluctantly she got up and followed him inside. They walked up the stairs, Sawyer leading the way and Traci following behind like a lost puppy. He stepped inside the guest room and checked everything over carefully to make sure it was well stocked with anything she might need. He even looked into the bathroom to ensure there were fresh towels.
    “I’ll give you a ride in the morning,” Sawyer said taking a final glance over everything, he may have hated her but he still wanted her stay to be perfect. She thought it was fascinating that even though he was so angry with her, he still cared she had a nice stay. It was like he was running some fancy bed-and-breakfast and her experience was important to him.
    “Thank you,” she said sitting on the bed burying her face into her hands again. It was easiest for her to just keep her face hidden from him.
    Sawyer sighed and started to close the door behind him, “Good night.”
    “Sawyer wait, please,” she begged.
    “Hmm?” He looked as though he was expecting her to ask for an extra blanket or another pillow, maybe she needed more towels. She stood up and took a careful step towards him, “Sawyer please, just listen, you don’t have to say anything, just let me say what I need to say.”
    He looked at her blankly and waited for her to continue.
    “I’m sorry. I feel awful….”
    He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t move either. His eyes were focused on the door frame.
    “None of this was supposed to happen. Not like this. I didn’t know… I didn’t even know you guys were brothers! At least not at first and by the time I found out it was too late.
    “I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t even realize how much you really mean to me until tonight that is. There is nothing with me and Cash, it’s over. It’s done—”
    “—But there had been something, right? You were in the trailer kissing him. You can’t deny that.”
    “I’m not going to lie to you, there was, but it’s different. It’s hard to explain. All I know is when you walked in, I felt so horrible that I had hurt you. It was you I was thinking about. That I worried about. Can we please talk about this? I’ll do anything, whatever it takes. I am so sorry for the pain I’ve caused you,” she said. Her hands pressed together like she was praying, raising them up towards him. Confessing her sins and asking for some form of forgiveness.
    Sawyer walked across the room and sat on the bed. She sat down leaving plenty of space between them so he’d feel comfortable. Traci knew the last thing he’d want was to be touched by her or even close to her.
    “What can I do? I can’t stand to see you hurting… and because of what I’ve done. I didn’t know when everything first started that you were brothers. When I found out I should have ended things, but it was too late I had developed some kind of feelings for both of you. It was wrong of me and I apologize.” Traci said wanting to reach out to him, to turn his head so she could see his eyes. It was killing her she’d done this to him.
    “I could have told you that first night but I didn’t,” he said.
    “Why didn’t you?” she asked her voice soft.
    “Because every girl on the face of this planet for as long as I can remember, only had eyes for him. All my life, all they ever asked was to know more about Cash. I thought maybe if I practically ignored his existence, maybe you wouldn’t notice him. Guess that didn’t work.”
    She realized that whatever it was that had happened between them was something that