Page 74

“Don’t bother,” I say.

They jump at the sound of my voice, necks craning to see my second-story window while I lean in the frame, glaring at them. Logan instantly looks guilty, but Aaron’s expression brightens.

“Riley,” he says softly.

The sound of my name spoken with such sweetness makes my heart skip, but I don’t let it distract me. “Quit conspiring,” I order. “You can’t force me to talk to you.”

“We’re just worried,” Logan says, holding his hands up defensively. “You’re not well.”

“When am I ever?” I demand.

“Please…I can’t…” Logan falters, gathering the courage for his next words before croaking them. “I can’t watch you do this to yourself. This whole time, I’ve been driving you away from him. But I didn’t realize how much healthier you were while living with him. How much…happier you were with him. If I’d known…”

“Then what?” I ask icily. “You would’ve kept sitting on the truth?”

Logan winces.

Aaron takes a step closer to the tree jutting toward my window. His eyes must be teary, because they’re shimmering like little diamonds in the sunlight. “I know I don’t deserve your time,” he says, “but I’m asking for it anyway. Just five minutes?”

I purse my lips. He’s good with his words—do I want to give him the chance to use them?

I decide I still need clarification, so I mutter, “Fine.”

I figure he’ll head through the front door, but the moment the word leaves my mouth, he’s vaulting up the trunk of the tree like a professional climber, and ten seconds later, he’s slinking through my window. Immediately, he draws the curtain sideways so Logan can’t see us, then checks to make sure my bedroom door is closed. His hairline shimmers with sweat droplets from having been standing in the heat, and the tip of his nose is the color of bubble gum.

“Hey, sunshine,” Aaron says with a frail smile. His gaze wanders from my eyes to my ankles, no doubt assessing my pathetic state. I don’t need his pity, though, so as he steps closer to hold my face, I slap his hands away.

“What do you want?” I ask.

“To apologize.”

I give him a tired glare, then go back to my bed and flop onto the edge, waiting. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen him, so this moment should feel bigger. This is where my emotions should swell to the surface and come pouring out of me in screams and cries.

Naturally, they don’t.

“Logan said you fainted today,” he says, wisely keeping his distance. “Have you eaten?”

“Does it matter?” I roll my hand irritably through the air. “If you’re going to waste my time scolding me, just leave.”

“No, that’s not…” Aaron’s shoulders slump with exasperation. “I just wish you wouldn’t punish yourself physically when you’re hurting emotionally. Can I borrow your kitchen for five minutes to make you something?”

I continue glaring at him, my eyes heavy and burning with fatigue.

Aaron’s throat bobs, and he nods, apparently expecting my lack of response. “I don’t have excuses, Riley,” he whispers. “It’s true. I planned on charming you and breaking your heart to get back at Logan. It was disgusting. I didn’t see that at the time.” His hands clench into pale fists at his navel. “I could only think about how betrayed I felt. How Logan used me for a year, then blamed me for corrupting him. I wasn’t thinking about you at all in this revenge plan. You were nothing but a tool I could use to my advantage.”

I sit silently, letting my brain absorb the words. I can’t tell whether they sting or not. I guess I already know most of what he’s saying.

“The other day, I said that falling in love with you wasn’t a mistake,” he murmurs. “You said But liking me was. And it’s true. I was never supposed to like you. You were meant to stay this shadowed object in the background of my plans. The problem…”

Aaron steps closer, then sinks onto his knees, inches from my legs.

“…is that you’re the sun, sunshine.”

I blink down at him in surprise, unswayable but not minding this new position. I can tell he’s about to launch into a speech. The thought might normally make me smile if I had the strength or feeling for it.

“I couldn’t avoid looking at you,” he says quietly, reaching out and clasping my hand, which is limp on my kneecap. “I tried ignoring your brightness without realizing you were already burned into my skin. All it took was a couple of dates for you to melt the anger in my heart.”

He begins to stroke the skin between my ice-cold knuckles. He smiles, his eyes distant, as if recalling the memory.