Page 80

It was always going to be awkward to have to come back and do this, but now I realize it might be awkward for a completely different reason. Before I was worried about the fact that we couldn’t stand each other and that we’d have to be around each other anyway. Now we have a different problem. I hesitate, and then decide to bring it up.

“So, when we get there, what do we do?” I ask.

Ares frowns at me. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know about you, but I was preparing myself to spend the whole festival pretending like you didn’t exist. I think it’s going to be pretty hard to do that now after… everything.” I wave a hand, meaning the fact that the truth of our breakup has come out and the fact that we’ve had sex several times since we left Atlanta.

“Oh, right. What do you want to do about it?”

I don’t know why he’s asking me, like there’s any other way this can go. If we tell them, it’ll be a whole mess. I remember how furious Ares’ parents were when it came out that he was with me back in high school. I definitely don’t want to kick that particular hornets’ nest again. Especially because I still don’t know how any of this is going to go.

Ares and I are okay now, but that’s here, with some distance between us and our families and our past. Once we get there, and his family has a chance to talk shit about me all over again, who knows what will happen?

Maybe Ares will remember all the reasons us being together was a bad idea. The last thing I want to do is trust him now and get hurt all over again.

“It’s not like they’ll be focused on us for the most part,” Ares is saying. “They’ll be wrapped up in the festival stuff.”

“Yeah, but not the whole time. And we were just talking about how they’ll be looking to us to play our parts for this whole thing. I think it’s too risky for them to find out. It’ll cause a huge mess, considering our families hate each other. The festival will just give them another reason to get riled up about it.”

A look crosses Ares’ face, but it’s gone before I can really read it. “Yeah, that’s a good point,” he says. He doesn’t sound like he’s on board, and for a second I think about asking him what he thinks we should do instead.

But I push that thought away.

“Okay,” I say. “So we’ll keep it quiet.”

Ares nods, and I smile. Truthfully I feel a bit torn about shoving this under the rug, but it feels like the smartest thing to do when we’re going back to the place where everything fell apart before.

33

ARES

We check out of the motel and get back in the car.

“Are you ever going to take a turn driving?” Tate says, teasing Callan.

Callan just rolls his eyes. “You act like you and Ares haven’t been the first ones behind the wheel before the rest of us are even in the car. If you want me to drive, just say so.”

“Maybe I’ll have Brynn ask you nicely,” Tate fires back. “I bet she can butter you up real good.”

“Didn’t I just spend the last few hours doing that?” Brynn says. “I’m tired.”

The three of them laugh, and I can’t help but grin as I watch them. Besides Brynn, Tate and Callan are the only two people I’ve ever loved with my whole heart. They’re the family I chose as soon as I had the chance to choose, and seeing the three of them together feels… complete, in a way I never would have expected.

My stomach twists at the thought of how different it’s all going to be when we get to Hope Falls. We’re going to have to pretend like none of this happened, and I don’t like that.

Brynn had a good point that it’s going to start some shit if our families find out, especially now when their pride in the town and themselves is at an all-time high, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. The fact that Brynn was so quick to suggest it makes me wonder if she’s glad for a reason not to talk about it. Maybe she wants the distance. Maybe she wants to hold back and protect herself.

I can’t say I blame her, considering everything that’s happened. I let old biases and rivalries twist my head into thinking that leaving Brynn was a good thing. I let that make me forget how good she always was to me, and it happened way too easily. If Brynn is worried about that happening again, she has good reason.

But I wish it didn’t have to be this way. I wish there was something I could do or say to make this easier.

Callan does drive this time, and we hit the road again. The banter keeps up for a while, but then eventually the car gets quiet. Brynn dozes a bit with her head on Tate’s shoulder, and I look out the window, watching as things start to look more and more familiar the closer we get to Hope Falls.

It gets dark out, and we pass a sign that says the exit for Hope Falls is only 115 miles away.

A little after that, my phone rings, and I pull it out. If it’s my mom calling, I plan to ignore it, but I see it’s Danielle, my agent.

“Hey, Dani,” I say, answering the call. “What’s up?”