I slid it out and offered it to him.
“Thanks.” He accepted it with a small smile. The paper felt cool against my palm. “Is it a good book?” Genuine curiosity flickered in his eyes.
I swallowed, trying to mask the tight coil of emotion in my throat. He was Caiden’s best friend, an alliance bound by loyalty I could never break. “It’s… interesting,” I said, trying for casual.
He laughed softly, the sound warm in the hush of the stacks. “Cool. If I’m going to read this, I have to like it.”
A polite smile curved my lips, though my heart thumped so loudly I was sure he could hear it. Dante had rescued me not long ago, but friendship with him felt forbidden, like tasting sugar when my enemy held the recipe.
“Well, I hope you enjoy it,” I whispered, turning to leave.
He stepped beside me, concern knitting his brow. “Hold up, are you okay? I’ve been thinking about you. I felt terrible about what happened.”
A metallic tang rose in my mouth.
Panic, shame, anger all at once.
I clenched my jaw until my teeth ached. “I’m fine.” The lie slipped out on a bitter note. “You helped me. I’m grateful. But Dante… you’re his best friend, and I’m the girl Caiden hates.”
His shoulders sagged, but he shook his head. “Just because I’m his friend doesn’t mean I hate you. I’ve known you a long time. As for Caiden, he’s just dealing with a lot right now.”
I crossed my arms, a cold laugh catching in my throat. “Like what? Plotting new ways to hurt me?”
He flinched, just a flicker of hurt in his dark eyes, and part of me felt triumphant. But then he spoke softly: “It’s not just you. At home, his father’s not kind.”
I frowned. “Then maybe he should take it out on someone who can stand up to him.”
“Amelia, I’m really sorry.” His apology trembled between us.
I wanted to tear down my walls, let him see the tremor in my heart, but I couldn’t. “It’s fine. What do you want from me, Dante?”
He inhaled deeply and met my gaze with an intensity that made the world hush around us. Every beat of my heart echoed in my ears. “I want you. I’ve wanted you for a long time, Amelia. You know that.”
Silence draped over me like a heavy curtain. To be wanted by him felt like both rescue and ruin. If Caiden ever knew –
I shivered, imagining dark eyes gleaming.
“Dante, I can’t,” I whispered, voice barely more than a breath.
His shoulders slumped, sadness softening his features. “I know. I just needed to say it.”
He stepped close, the warmth of his body brushing mine, and pressed a quick, gentle kiss to my cheek, longer than a friend’s touch, before squeezing my hand.
My heart fluttered, torn between terror and longing.
Without another word, he turned and vanished around the corner, leaving me alone among thesilent shelves.
I couldn’t have him. I was doomed to fall into a pit of loneliness, cut off from love and belonging. Maybe if things were different, we could have been something more.
The rest of the day passed in a dreamlike haze: the ghost of his lips on my skin, the ache of hope and heartbreak entwined in every heartbeat.
Inside our house, the usual fog of cigarette smoke and stale gin hit me. I stood in the entryway, listening; no sounds except the rhythmic tick of the kitchen clock, the hum of the fridge, and from somewhere in the gloom, a muted snore.
Mom.
She’d passed out on the couch, mascara streaked like a bruise beneath each eye. A tremor ran up my spine, I couldn’t decide if it was hatred or pity that moved me.
My head kept replaying Dante’s confession, the earnest tremble in his voice, and how it felt to be wanted, even for a moment.
