I pushed that thought aside. “Did you get the grades back for your assignment?”
She inhaled sharply. “You remembered?”
“Yeah.” Whatever shit was happening in our personal lives, we were still trying to keep on top of our college courses—and it washard, but Ava hadn’t let anything deter her.Andshe was still skating.
Even though the professors had been accommodating because of everything that had happened, and they’d allowed us all some leeway with submission dates, she’d still had a deadline of five days after the funeral.
“I passed. My professor said it was my best work,” she whispered, and I tightened my arms around her, pressing my smile into her hair.
“Proud of you.”
She was silent for a long moment, and then she spoke, her voice hesitant. “This tree house… Can you tell me about it? If you?—”
“Yeah,” I said. “I can tell you. My uncle built it. I’m not sure how old he was—my dad never wanted to talk about it, but it was when they were kids, I think. Probably teenagers. My uncle shared it with me when I was eight. He said he could tell that I-I— Fuck.” I swallowed hard. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” she murmured, her fingers sliding over mine, gently squeezing my hands.
“Yeah. I know. It’s just… It’s hard. He said he could tell that I needed it. That I was like him. That I didn’t fit in, and I needed a place I could go where no one would bother me. SomewhereI could escape. A year later…he was gone. He—he took his own life.”
“Shit,” Ava cursed softly, twisting in my arms so she could press kisses to my face, her arms winding around my neck as she turned to face me fully. Straddling my thighs, she met my gaze, her eyes wide and serious. “Micah… In case you needed to hear it, you fit in. You fit with me, and with Cruz, and with Grayson. Without you, there would be nous.”
I ducked my head, biting down on my lip. I wished I could believe her words, but…
“Micah. I mean it. You know me. You know how I tried so hard to fit in, and yet I never felt like I belonged. But now I do—with you, and the guys. None of us would have chosen the circumstances that brought us together, but the fact is, we are together, and we fit.”
“Yeah?” I said hoarsely.
She nodded, smiling at me, and I leaned forward to brush a kiss across her lips. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Her smile dropped. “I hope Cruz and Gray are okay. I worry about them. Sometimes it feels as if they think they’re invincible, but they’re not.”
My mouth twisted. “Yeah.”
She was right. Cruz and Grayson were both too confident for their own good, in different ways. While they both had their insecurities—insecurities I could have never even imagined that lay beneath the surface just a few months ago—they were too eager to push for answers, to put themselves into dangerous situations without thinking of the possible consequences.
I ignored the voice in my head, reminding me that I’d put myself in danger at the lake and Grayson had rescued me on a Jet Ski. I still had flashbacks of that moment, being chased through the undergrowth, fleeing for my life, with an unknown person or persons hot on my heels, their dog gaining on me…
If Gray hadn’t been there then, I might not be here now.
And that was why I needed to go back. I knew that place held answers.
But after what had happened to Livy, I knew that whoever was behind it all would stop at nothing. They might be quiet now—aside from the threatening text, but we knew they were only biding their time.
Our lives were at stake.
If we started digging deeper, we might end up digging our own graves.
16
AVA
Childhood memories were the best ones to bask in. There was something magical about them; it was as if they still carried the naivety with which we used to see the world. Micah’s tree house was the perfect example of it. These walls held the memories of a lonely boy who longed to fit in, his hopes and dreams, and the longing for his father to accept him.
I touched the wood and was surprised at how smooth it felt. A great deal of love was put into this project. The inside was still in pristine condition. Micah held it close to his heart, and that made me ache for him in a way I hadn’t before. Once again, I hated myself for letting this tragedy be the catalyst that got us together.
“It’s cozy up here,” I told Micah after a while.
He looked around the tree house with a bittersweet smile on his lips.
