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I smile as Milo begins peppering my throat with sweet kisses, only for that smile to disappear when a familiar voice calls out his name.

“Milo! Milo Fletcher! I need to talk to you!” Peyton yells, from somewhere downstairs.

Milo freezes, pressing his forehead against mine.

“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath.

My frown deepens when I hear several other familiar voices joining hers.

“Peyton, come on. I’ve been busting my ass at the diner all night. Stalking your stepbrother isn’t exactly my idea of a good time,” Kayla complains.

“Shut up, Kayla. God, I swear, if there’s one thing I regret, it’s tying you in. All you ever do is fucking complain. How can you even call yourself a Red?”

“Forget Kayla. We can look for Milo and that bitch together,” I hear Delaney offer.

“No. I’ll handle this,” Peyton snaps. “You guys wait outside. This shouldn’t take long.”

“Come on,” Milo whispers, taking my hand and pulling me into an adjoining room.

Most of the mill’s old machinery is still scattered throughout the building, so we duck behind the largest piece of equipment we can find, crouching low enough to stay out of sight.

“Your dad told my mom you’re planning to follow that bitch to Boston!” Peyton calls out, her voice echoing through the abandoned building. “I don’t get it, Milo. I really don’t. I mean, her? Of all the girls you could have, you chose Max Morgan? Why? She’s nothing. She’s worse than nothing. She’s fucking scum!”

Milo’s hands curl into fists beside me, his jaw tightening with every insult she throws my way. I quickly wrap my fingers around his, shaking my head when he turns to look at me.

The last thing I want is another confrontation with Peyton, especially when we’re so close to finally getting out of this town.

He holds my gaze for a moment before slowly relaxing his hands, threading his fingers through mine instead.

“You think she’s actually going to make something of herself?” Peyton continues. “Hello? She’s going to Boston to attend some shitty community college, for heaven’s sake. And you’re throwing away everything you’ve worked for just to follow her? God, Milo, how fucking pathetic can you be? She’s dragging you down with her, and you’re too stupid to see it.”

Milo shifts beside me, but I tighten my grip on his hand, silently begging him not to take the bait.

“She’s never going to be good enough for you!” Peyton shouts, her voice sounding closer. “Not now, not ever! You think leaving Fairhope is going to change who she is? She’ll always be that pathetic little nobody who thinks she’s better than everyone else. And sooner or later, you’re going to realize you threw your whole future away for someone who wasn’t worth a damn in the first place.”

I swallow hard, forcing myself to ignore the familiar sting of her words.

After everything she’s put me through, you’d think I’d have grown immune to her cruelty by now.

Apparently not.

“Fine!” she yells when neither of us take the bait. “You don’t want to come out and talk to me? Then I’ll make you.”

We remain hidden, listening as her footsteps retreat down the hallway. A few more minutes pass, and when the building finally falls silent, I allow myself to breathe again, the tension slowly easing from my shoulders.

Milo turns toward me, immediately noticing the slight tremor in my hands. He reaches for them, gently rubbing his thumbs over my knuckles.

“After tomorrow, we’re putting all of this behind us,” he whispers. “All of it. Once we leave Fairhope, we’ll never have to think about her again. Okay?”

I nod, wanting desperately to believe him.

“Good.” He presses a kiss to my temple. “Where you go, I go.”

“And where you go, I go too.”

“That’s my girl.” He gives me his trademark wink.

I’m about to suggest we head upstairs to meet our friends when a strange smell catches my attention. At first, it’s faint, barely noticeable beneath the familiar mustiness of the abandoned building. But then it grows stronger, sharp and acrid enough to make my nose wrinkle.