“Don’t you?” He tossed the accusation at her, and her mouth snapped shut like she hadn’t considered that until right now. “I think we both know why he wanted me to read that.”
She sucked in a hard breath as the wheels turned in her brain. “I’ll kill him.”
“It’s not all his fault.You’rethe one who wrote it.” He yelled the words, helpless to control his fury and embarrassment and betrayal. “Youthought those things, put them down on paper.”
A tear tracked down her cheek, and then another. Before long, she was crying, sobbing in great bursts that tore at his heart. Part of him wanted to soothe her, to wipe away her tears and suck the salt off his fingers. Another part of him wanted to join in. Wanted to cry about how small she’d made him feel.
“Why’d you do it?” His voice cracked as he pleaded with her. That’s how badly he wanted to understand what made her think this was okay.
“I…” She took a shuddery breath and swiped angrily at her cheeks. “I was panicked. I didn’t have a good hook for my essay. What have I ever done in my life that’s interesting?” When she looked at him now, her eyes were wet but sharp. She was ready to defend herself. “And I really did work hard to figure out ways to make numbers easier for you. I read so much about different learning styles. I even talked to Mrs. Davies about it.”
“Thespecial edteacher? You talked to her about me?” He clutched the railing so hard the metal groaned.
“I didn’t think you’d find out! Not about any of this!” she cried. “Mrs. Davies would never say anything! I did it to help you.”
“You did it to helpyou!You Foxes.” He sneered. “Doing whatever you want to whoever you want, just to get what you think you deserve.”
She was reaching for him again, and this time he grabbed her by the wrist to ward off her touch.
“I love you, Leo!” Her voice shook, and he dropped her hand as if it burned him.
“That’s not love. That’s pity. You’ve been taking notes and thinking about what a great little story I’ll be for your roommate when you’re off at Northwestern, just like Daddy wants.” He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I thought I actually meant something to you. God, I really am stupid.”
That last bit he said more to himself than to her. Before she could respond, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. His great triumph. His grand plan to keep them together forever. Crumpling the paper, he flung it at her. It bounced off her chest and landed on the ground between them.
“I got accepted into Oakten so I could move to Evanston with you. I was going to tell you tonight.”
“Th-the community college?”
She blinked up at him, eyelashes clumped together with tears, and this time he couldn’t hold back a sob.
“I would’ve gone anywhere for you. I would’ve figured out a way to build us a house on the sun if that’s where you wanted to go.”
She was crying again, heaving great silent sobs as she bent to pick up the paper. “Just let me explain! I wasn’t—”
But he’d heard enough. He kicked open the door and let it slam shut behind him, barricading himself in his bedroom and jamming his pillow over his head so he wouldn’t be able to hear her.
It didn’t work. Not for the eternity she stood on his front stoop calling his name and not when she decided to stop.
“Fine!” she finally shouted. “Go to hell, Leo.”
That fucking pillow didn’t stop a damn thing. He heard the exact moment she gave up on him, walked down the crumbling sidewalk, and drove out of his life forever.
FIFTEEN
“Okay, team. Who’s ready?”
Faith bounced like a cheerleader and madly wiggled her fingers, an enormous grin on her face. Being this upbeat was exhausting, but after that cookout at Leo’s, she was working overtime to keep the Dig Greener dynamic… not weird, for lack of a better term. So what if William didn’t know about her history with Leo? And so what if Leo aggressively didn’t want to talk about it? She’d just have to muscle through and make sure their awkward little trio kept running smoothly. If she was laying it on a little thick, well, there was too much at stake for her not to at least try.
Thankfully William played along, slapping her a high five. “Hell yes. Let’s do this.”
Leo grunted.
She looked down to hide her smile when William shot her an amused glance. Leo’d been extra grumbly since William had started full time at BUILD two weeks ago, and she didn’t want to make it worse by openly laughing with his friend. But she also needed Leo to get over himself for the next thirty minutes because they were cooling their heels outside the on-air studio at the Brick, waiting to pitch Dig Greener on the morning show. Her friend Mabel was one of the show’s cohosts, and she waved at them through the booth window, enormous headphones covering her ears. Faith waved back cheerfully. She’d met Mabel through Thea, and even though it was a little weird when your best friend made other friends, Faith was a big enough person to admit that Mabel was a lot of fun.
“Who’s the blonde?” William’s gaze locked on Mabel, and Faith gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat.
“Taken,” she said. “Super taken.”
