Worth the Fall

Chapter 8

My stomach dropped.

“No,” I said quickly. “That’s not what I meant.”

He stood up and grabbed the trash.

“Sure.”

“Landon—”

“Maybe your boyfriend can come get you from here.”

He turned and started walking back toward the car.

And to my everlasting humiliation—

I chased him.

Actually chased him.

“Landon, stop.”

He kept walking.

“Landon.”

I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, and he finally turned around.

His eyes weren’t angry.

Not really.

Just hurt.

And weirdly defensive.

“Don’t be like this,” I said, breathless.

“Like what?” he asked sharply. “The spoiled rich kid? Is that what you think I am?”

His voice wasn’t loud.

But it still hit hard.

Because beneath the sarcasm and confidence, I could hear it.

Insecurity.

A deep one.

And suddenly I understood something important:

People had probably been making assumptions about him his entire life.

“No,” I said immediately. “I don’t think that.”

“Then what do you think?”

I hesitated.

And for once, I decided to be honest.

“I think…” I looked away for a second, trying to find the words. “I think being around all of this makes me feel insecure.”

He said nothing.

So I kept going.

“Not because I want your money,” I said. “And not because I think less of you for having it. I just… I know what it’s like to want something so badly and realize the world is built easier for some people than others.”

His expression softened slightly.

“I don’t hate that you have options,” I said quietly. “I just wish having passion was enough for everyone.”

For a second, neither of us said anything.

Then he exhaled.

And some of the tension finally left his shoulders.

“I shouldn’t have snapped at you,” he said. “I just…”

He ran a hand through his hair and looked away.

“People assume a lot about me.”

“I know,” I said.

He looked back at me.

And for the first time since I met him, he looked completely stripped down.

No act.

No smirk.

No wall.

Just Landon.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

And somehow that felt bigger than it should have.

I smiled a little.

“I’m sorry too.”

A beat passed.

Then he held out a hand toward the car.

“Come on, Grandma. Let’s get you home.”

And just like that, I laughed.

The tension cracked.

And the world started breathing again.

We got back in the car, and for a few minutes, everything felt strangely softer.

Like whatever had shifted between us at the overlook hadn’t gone away.

It had just… settled.

There was no awkwardness.

No weird pressure.

Just a quiet kind of ease.

Which somehow felt more dangerous than flirting.

“Nathan isn’t my boyfriend, by the way,” I said eventually.

Landon glanced over.

“Oh?”

“No,” I said dryly. “He’s my very annoying older brother.”

The corner of his mouth lifted.

“So I wasn’t competing with a boyfriend.”

I turned to look at him.

“You were competing?”

His grin widened.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You absolutely implied it.”

“I said no such thing.”

“You are a liar.”

“And you’re bossy.”

“I’m not bossy.”

“You kind of are.”

I gasped.

“How dare you.”

He laughed.

And I hated how much I liked that sound.

“Older brothers are supposed to be annoying,” he said after a second. “It’s in the job description.”

“Oh? Speaking from experience?”

He nodded.

“My little sister, Aurora, says I make her life hell.”

I smiled.

“She sounds smart.”

“She’s twelve and evil.”

“Even smarter.”

He laughed again, and I found myself studying him while he drove.

The way one hand stayed loose on the wheel.

The way his rings caught the city lights.

The way he looked calmer now than he had all day.

He was nothing like I thought he’d be.

And somehow that made him even more dangerous.

Because if he’d just been arrogant and spoiled, I could’ve dismissed him.

Avoided him.

Written him off.

But he wasn’t.

He was layered.

Complicated.

And maybe a little broken in places he didn’t want people to see.

Which was, unfortunately, exactly the kind of thing I was always going to notice.

“So,” he said after a while, “where do you see yourself next year?”

I smiled.

“Oh, it’s my turn now?”

“Mhm.”

I looked out the window for a second before answering.

“At Dartmouth,” I said. “Studying pre-law.”

He glanced over at me, surprised.

“You want to be a lawyer?”

I frowned.

“Why does that sound so shocking?”

He smirked a little.

“You don’t exactly have the personality of a lawyer.”

I stared at him.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t know. Lawyers are usually… meaner.”

I laughed despite myself.

“Well, that’s wildly offensive to the entire legal profession.”

“Tragic.”

I rolled my eyes.

“No, but really,” I said. “It makes sense for me. It’s stable. It pays well. There are so many different directions I could go with it.”

He was quiet for a second.

Then he asked, “What kind of lawyer?”

I thought about it.

“I don’t know if I want to be boxed into one thing,” I admitted. “Maybe general practice. Maybe family law. Maybe criminal defense. I just… I want options.”

He nodded slowly.

Then he said, “Seems to me like maybe you haven’t figured out who you want to be yet.”

The words landed wrong.

Not because they were cruel.

Because they were too close to a fear I already carried.

I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry my life plan isn’t specific enough for you.”

Landon immediately groaned.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel for a second.

“I mean…” He sighed. “I think there’s more to you than what makes sense on paper.”

I blinked.

And suddenly I didn’t know what to say.

Because no one had ever put it that way before.

Everyone in my life always praised me for being smart.

Driven.

Practical.

Responsible.

But Landon looked at me like maybe there was more to me than achievement.

Like maybe I was a person before I was a plan.

“I come from a world,” I said quietly, “where being practical matters.”

He didn’t interrupt.

“Where getting a stable job and living a normal life is considered success. And honestly…” I swallowed. “I don’t hate that. I don’t need some huge, wild life. I like normal.”

He nodded once.

And this time, he didn’t argue.

But I couldn’t stop the thought from creeping in anyway.

He and I came from two completely different worlds.

And no matter how easy this felt right now…

Easy wasn’t the same as possible.

He would have to come down to my world.

Or I would have to climb into his.

And somehow, even this early, I could already feel it:

Neither of us would survive that without losing something.

When we finally pulled up outside my house, I wanted to disappear instantly.

Not because I was ashamed of where I came from.

Never that.

But because seeing his car parked in front of my very normal, very loud, very crowded family home made the differences between us impossible to ignore.

The second his car stopped, my front door flew open.

And then—

Chaos.

My twin sisters rushed outside first.

Nathan was right behind them.

Then my parents.

All at once.

Wonderful.

Perfect.

Exactly what I wanted.

Nathan stopped dead when he saw the car.

My sisters looked like they’d just been visited by a celebrity.

And my parents?

My parents looked suspicious enough to launch a federal investigation.

I closed my eyes briefly.

“Please act normal,” I muttered under my breath.

“No promises,” Landon said, clearly entertained.

I glared at him.

Then I opened the door and stepped out.

“Thank you, Landon,” I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “It was really nice of you to do this.”

I started walking toward the house, but before I could make it three steps, his window rolled down.

I turned.

He rested one arm against the window frame, that stupid beautiful smile already in place.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Grandma.”

I narrowed my eyes.

And yet somehow, my knees still went weak.

“You’re insufferable,” I called back.

“And yet,” he said, “you still got in the car.”

Then he drove away before I could come up with a comeback.

Which was rude, honestly.

I stood there for a second, staring after him like an i***t.

Then I turned around to face my family.

Five pairs of eyes stared back at me.

Nathan grinned.

My sisters looked seconds away from spontaneous combustion.

My mother crossed her arms.

Dad looked deeply, deeply interested.

And all I could think was:

Was that a date?

(Chapter Theme song: Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez)