Eight months?!
“Not very long? Jesus, Trouble. That’s a long fucking time,” I muttered, kicking at a loose rock.
Eight months. While I was at home, cutting things off before they got serious. I was always circling back to her. Meanwhile, she’d been in something real. Something I hadn’t even known about.
Maybe we didn’t tell each other everything after all. Perhaps I didn’t know her as well as I thought I did.
“Why’s he here then? You still seeing him?”
“No,” she said quickly, glancing over her shoulder like the guy might appear. “I don’t know why he’s here. Honestly, I’m just… surprised.” Her voice was softer now, restrained at the edges.
I didn’t need to push anymore. I’d gotten my answer, but I hated it.
“Hey,” I softly said this time, threading my fingers through hers and tugging her into me. She let me pull her close, and I leaned down a bit, so her chin fit into the crook of my neck like it always had. “Let’s drop it.”
She nodded. The scent of her hair, faintly citrus, pulled me straight back to when we were sixteen.
“Trouble, you’re my best friend,” I had told her, after seeing the drawings she left out. Shadows stood behind her in every single drawing. I knew something was wrong then, that she was hiding something she hadn’t told me.
“You’re mine, too,” she had said, smiling like she meant it.
“Don’t ever forget that,” I had whispered.
What I really meant was: I know you’re scared. But I won’t let anyone hurt you.
Back at the cabin,she sat cross-legged on the bed, frowning at her new iPhone.
“You want me to set that up for you?” I asked, holding out a hand.
“I think I’ve got it. It’s simple, right?”
Five minutes later, she was sighing, muttering about iCloud and face recognition. “This is too much. I just want to text my mom.”
I laughed. “Give it here. I can help you. You know I’m great with tech.”
“Yeah, I know. Too good,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Fine.”
She didn’t know how good I actually was. I’d reset locked accounts, recovered fried hard drives, and even bypassed password encryption. Systems made sense to me. People didn’t.
She handed me her phone and then said, “Here you go—secret agent.”
Immediate turn-on.
I almost grabbed her, but my fists curled at my sides. I bit back a response. I’d behave, for now.
A few quick taps, and it was done. I added my number to her contacts as
MAX
and sent her a text.
Hey
Her head snapped up. “Oh, come on. You really think I’m letting you put a heart next to your name?”
“I mean, I just rescued you from the hell of setup screens,” I said, fishing my swimsuit from the dresser. “Plus, the way you’ve been eye-fucking me all day, it seemed fitting.”
Her eyes went wide.
