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that year instead of one. Austin had parents and siblings, but I’d never met them. I wasn’t even sure if they lived in the area.
    I twirled my pigtails around my fingers while watching Maizy swing on one of the ropes.
    Before I could draw a breath, Beckett slid in the chair in front of me. “Knew I’d find you here,” he said smugly.
    Beckett had on that damn T-shirt I hated, the one that said “Meathead.” It was just the sheer principle of a man proudly labeling himself as an idiot.
    “Beckett,” I warned. “Let’s not do this here.”
    He narrowed his lashless eyes. “You got a right to be mad, Lexi. I fucked up. But I’m not perfect—no one is. You’ve got your fair share of baggage, and I’ve got mine.”
    I crossed my arms and leaned back in the plastic chair. “Are you calling your infidelity… baggage ?”
    He snorted, staring at my head. “You look ridiculous with your hair that way. Take it down so we can have a real conversation. I can’t talk to you like this.”
    “How about you not talk to me at all? We’re done, Beckett. That’s nonnegotiable.”
    “Lex,” he said, placing his hand firmly on my arm.
    I bolted out of the chair and headed in the other direction. Leaving him was one of the most difficult things I had done in my life, and we had already gone through all this. Now he was picking at a scab and trying to make it bleed again.
    “Lex, wait,” he called out. I passed the pinball machines and he caught up with me by skeeball.
    I turned around, tired of all the running. “Stop following me, Beck. It’s creeping me out. I don’t want to keep reliving this over and over. Don’t you get it? There’s no going back and undoing what you did.”
    He gripped my shoulders. “Look, babe, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. It was a mistake and I won’t—”
    “Save it,” I interrupted. “You’ll never know what that did to me, and it’s not something I can easily get over. Maybe some women can, but you’ve always known that was the deal breaker for me. Not only would I always be wondering where you were when you came home late, but I’d always know that I wasn’t enough for you. I loved you, Beckett. I trusted you, and you broke that.”
    His grip tightened when I tried to shrug him away. “Lex, you know you’re the only girl for me, right? You’re the girl I want to marry.”
    I snapped.
    My hands flew out in a karate-chop move I must have seen on one too many Kung Fu movies. A stunned look crossed his face when his arms were knocked away.
    “Fine! Goddammit, I’m just trying to make it right again. Fucking bitch !” he yelled, storming out of the room.
    There I stood amid ringing bells, screaming kids, and arcade machines.
    Shaking.
    I had to pull it together before my sister saw me have a nervous breakdown.
    “Maizy, stay right where you are and don’t go anywhere,” I shouted, holding my finger out. “I’m going potty.”
    She nodded and I walked to the restroom, only a few feet away. But once I entered the empty hall, I couldn’t go any farther. I allowed my body to slide down the wall and I covered my eyes as a tidal wave of pain surfaced.
    I’d been with Beckett for two years, and through our ups and downs, I had started to imagine a life with him. One that might have involved kids, or maybe even going to college and figuring out what I wanted to do in life besides working a cash register. It took me two years to give him all of my heart, and he threw it away in one night. I’d thought he loved me. How many other times were there? Didn’t matter.
    Once was enough.
    “Lexi?”
    Two heavy hands covered my knees. “What’s wrong?” The controlled anger belonged to Austin Cole.
    My stupid tears. Damn them. I was already trying to get myself together and now my emotions switched gears to another part of my life that was an open wound.
    “Why did you leave us?” I finally asked. The words felt like a sword because I’d said them a number of times over