For that reason, I wanted to hear the rest.
Ineededto hear the rest.
But I couldn’t handle any more secrets, right then.
“I believe you, when you say it wasn’t your intention for it to play out like it did. But that doesn’t change what happened, and I can’t lie to you and say I know how I feel about all of it right now.”
He nodded, dropping his eyes and reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. “I can call her. Call them, or just him…if that’s what you want.”
“No.” I shook my head, and his eyes jumped to mine. “I’m not leaving. I just—I need time to think about it.”
“And the rest? The part I can’t share here?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “When—IfI need to hear the rest, I’ll come find you.”
Landon
Max Dread.
I stared at my self-proclaimed mortal enemy as we finished clearing out the first escape room. Warring with myself over when and how to approach a conversation I might regret. Eyes narrowing on his back.
The question of how we’d gotten into bed together reared its ugly head again.
Him—of all people, I didn’t know why it had to be him. Or why fate seemed hell-bent on dragging us together.
It chipped away at a block in my mind.
But I’d accepted it.
It was because of me that she’d been open to his charm, and he made her happy. But still, some days, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. There was something about Max Dread I still couldn’t pin down.
Like a nail tapping on a chalkboard, it unsettled me. Not understanding his motives or his hatred.
The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. Because of what happened in Kingston’s room the other night. Anight burned into my brain, replaying like a song left on repeat. One whose words I’d remember long after the music stopped.
It grew louder with every passing replay. Louder when the question of Max Dread shuffled in. My uncertainty over him and what he might do threatened the delicate balance we’d found.
I’d been trying not to think about it, because the pain in my head grew unbearable each time I did.
But Iwantedto think about it.
Quinn, me, and Kingston...
How would that work with him there?
He’d been right that night in the cabin. We’d taken the same sex ed class, so I understood the logistics of it to a certain degree, but the dynamics—Putting aside his feelings for us, Max Dread didn’t follow orders unless he had no other choice.
I huffed a laugh at the thought of Kingston telling Max what to do in bed and imagined how he’d respond to that.
But then, I thought of Quinn. How much the divide between us hurt her, even though she tried not to show it.
Losing him…
It worried her.
I didn’t want it to come to that,for her, so I’d promised to try. But the sound of even a quiet laugh leaving my mouth set Max Dread on edge.
“What’s so funny, Golden Boy?” He swept up the bits of paper that had fallen to the floor as the girls tore through envelopes. When he saw me staring at him, he stalked over and thrust the broom into my hand. “Less laughing. More cleaning, so we can get out of here. Think you can handle that?”
