“Okay, okay, my turn,” Jake cut in, squeezing Liam’s shoulder. “Believe it or not, I’m glad Mia spilled her secrets in that journal. If she hadn’t, Liam would still be in the closet.”
“I suspected Jude was the prankster this whole time,” Mia confessed. “Sorry, Jude.”
Jude packed his cigarette pack and shrugged. “It’s cool. I don’t blame you. I was a wanker.”
Tyler scrunched her face. “They just didn’t know you like I do.”
“Nah, I should’ve never treated you the way I did. That’s not like me.”
“Fuck, this is therapeutic, yeah?” I laughed, seeing all the love pouring from the circle of outcasts. “Who knew we could’ve ever gotten to a place like this.”
The circle went silent into deep thought.
“Bloody truth? I’ve fantasized about fucking Ollie,” Tyler blurted.
“And then she goes and does that,” Jude shook his head.
“What?” Tyler lifted her shoulders. “This is a safe place.”
“Bloody truth? I just learned your name like a month ago,” I rushed in to save the moment.
“I wonder what ever happened to Brianna,” Mia mumbled out loud once laughter died. Brianna had been banished from Dolor shortly after Madilyn and Zeke’s death, never to be seen or heard from since that day. There hadn’t been a single mention of Brianna’s name either, or why she would have agreed to switch identities with Madilyn.
Everyone offered a wordless shrug.
“Bloody truth?” Tyler spoke up. “What’s Officer Scott’s story with you? Brianna and Madilyn both said you two were together.”
The knot in my stomach increased to the size of an American football and my teeth clenched. Mia’s fingers circled my knee caps.
Three.
Two.
One.
Exhale.
“There is no story,” Mia said casually. “Ethan—
“Oh, he has a name,” Jake interrupted.
Mia dropped her head and narrowed her eyes in his direction. “Officer Scott is intense, but he was the only one who was there when everyone else bounced, so … ” she lifted her shoulder.
Tyler nudged her head. “Earmuffs, Ollie.” I flipped her the bird. Whatever she was about to say, she could say it. I already knew everything. “Suit yourself.” Her eyes darted to Mia. “You and Officer Scott had sex, didn’t you? Is he really a fucking monster under his uniform?”
“Ooh, does the carpet match the drapes?” Jake asked with an anticipated smile.
Mia shook with laughter in my arms, and I didn’t know if I was relieved I couldn’t see her face to catch her expression, or mad about it. “You guys are horrible.”
“Ah, keeping to your guns on this one, yeah?” Tyler shook her head. “That answers it.”
Mia turned in my arms, and I fell back to my elbows. She blinked slowly, the complete opposite of what my heart was doing. “I love you,” she whispered.
The three single words were rare coming from her lips.
She never had to remind me, but in times such as these, it was everything my body needed to relax. Mia pulled her hair over her head into a band, and stubborn strands danced in the wind. “Say it again,” I demanded, needing to hear it. It wasn’t a question.
Mia’s hands slid down my thighs, and the blood rushed to both heads.
