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Finally, after a few seconds, she says, “What do they have that I don’t?”

I blink at her, not really understanding her question or who she is referring to. I cross my arms and say nothing.

After Olivia died and I came back to New Ocean, my anger got the better of me, and I hated seeing how happy everyone was. I started fucking Naomi again to see if that would make me feel alive and to get revenge on Ezra for stealing my glory goal and basically a whole hockey season from me. But it didn’t work; I was still tortured inside. It wasn’t fair to her, and I guess it was a harsh punishment for Ezra.

“Olivia and London,” she responds carefully, knowing I probably look confused. “You chose them over me. Did you not like having sex with me? Am I not pretty enough for you?”

I shake my head and sit on the side of the bed. As much as I don’t want to have this conversation, it seems like it’s happening, and the last thing I want is to upset her. “You’re a gorgeous girl, Naomi. You know that, though.”

She folds her arms as if suddenly feeling self-conscious that she’s throwing herself at me again and that I’m denying her. “So what is it, then?”

“Naomi. Don’t do this.”

She purses her lips. “I want to understand… I thought, after the Gala, before all that Olivia shit, you said… You lied to me, Micah. And I didn’t deserve that.”

I lean up and place the blanket over her tits to hide her naked body and to help distract the physical response to her I shouldn’t be having.

She rolls to her side and lets me tuck her in. “Were you having sex with her at the same time as me?”

I lower my eyes and draw my hand back. “Yeah.”

Her eyes widen at my sudden admission. “Do you even know which her I’m referring to right now?”

“No,” I admit.

Shit… I really don’t. I was screwing Naomi when I first became attracted to London. When London watched me with Naomi in the woods, I knew right then that I wanted her and it was the wrong girl pleasuring me. I could tell how much London wanted me then, even if she didn’t know it yet.

Naomi kicks at me. “Fuck you, Micah. Just fuck you.”

She looks tired and pale, and right now, I don’t have the energy for this shit, and I certainly do not want to have this conversation.

I crawl in next to her as she lays her head on the bed, defeated, refusing to look at me. “You need some water and rest.” I grab the bottle I left near the bed and lift her head. She takes a tiny sip and sinks back down on the bed, her eyes locked on the outside. Her eyes are still sunk deep into her face and blood-shot. She’s far from the healthy and vibrant girl I had considered a friend. I help her get more comfortable, covering her with an oversized sweater.

“Are you hungry?” I ask.

She nods hesitantly but still refuses to look at me.

I’m not sure when she ate for the last time, so I hand her a piece of leftover fish and give her some space to eat it, sitting on the edge of the bed with my elbows on my knees.

“Eat up, Naomi. Because as soon as you’re feeling better, we’re leaving,” I say, turning to face her.

Her eyes widen. “Where are we going?”

“You are going to show me exactly where your boyfriend is hiding.”

She blinks at me a few times before taking a bite of fish like it’s poison. The opposite of London, who would have ripped that fish out of my hands to get her teeth on it. “Are you going to hurt him again?”

“That depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“It depends on whether you’re lying to me right now.”

After two days, Naomi’s health shows signs of improvement. I feed her what I can, which isn’t much since the fish aren’t biting and having her is throwing me off my game. I’ve been tense, more than usual, missing the fuck out of my girlfriend and wishing she was in front of me so I could apologize, worship her, and make everything right.

A warm breeze brushes my skin as I crouch and watch the furry squirrel eying the bait I set inside the wire trap a few minutes earlier.

That’s right, eat the bait, you little fucker.