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“And why do you know?” Jan stared at me, her eyes probing for information, and I wasn’t sure what she saw, but when her nostrils flared, and she ground out, “What the hell have you done?” I knew she knew. I knew I couldn’t hide it from anyone anymore—not that I wanted to.
“Jan,” Lola called, walking closer to us. “Why don’t you sit down—”
“Did you know?” Jan asked, twirling on Lola.
“Know what?” Lola frowned, her gaze batting between the two of us. “I don’t understand…”
“She doesn’t know,” I told Jan. “No one knows.”
“Not true,” Ford interjected, raising his hand in the air. “I knew.”
“You knew what?” Dad asked.
“Could someone please explain what the hell is going on right now?” Sal demanded.
Everyone was looking at me, waiting for an answer, and I knew it was time to give it to them. We’d wanted to do it together. We’d wanted to tell everyone how we felt about each other, but Aria hadn’t given me a choice. They had to know now.
“I’m in love with Aria.” I paused, waiting for their reactions, but they all continued to stare at me. “And she’s in love with me. We’re together. We have been for months.”
“Months?” Jan asked, backing away a step. “As in, when she was seventeen?”
I cringed, and even though I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. “Yes.”
“Fuck,” Ford spat, but it was Dad who came to stand next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“You took advantage of my daughter!” Jan screamed, raising her hand and then slapping me across the face. The burn of her palm didn’t register for several seconds. “How dare you! How dare you—”
“How dare I?” I laughed, but it wasn’t humorous in the slightest. “How dare I look after the girl who you basically abandoned? How dare I show her some love? How dare I make sure she wasn’t destroying herself more and more each day? How dare I be there when she needed someone to talk to? How dare I? How dare I?”
“I think we all need to calm down,” Dad said.
Sal wrapped his arms around Jan, whispering something to her, and then he looked at me. “I’m taking Jan outside for some air.” He paused, his chest lifting on an inhale. “Thank you.” I frowned, not sure what he was thanking me for, but he continued, “Thank you for looking out for her when no one else did.”
Jan stared up at him. “Sal—”
“No, Jan.” He looked down at her. “We failed her. Look where we are right now. We fuckin’ failed.”
“But he took advantage—”
“You don’t believe that,” Sal interrupted her, placing his hands on either side of her face. “Deep down, you don’t. You’re looking for someone to blame, that’s all. No one is to blame. Have we made mistakes? Yes, but we can’t do anythin’ about the past now. We just gotta look forward. Ri is getting help, and we’ll be there every step of the way.”
“But…” Jan’s shoulders drooped. “You’re right. I…I need some air.”
The two of them walked out of the room, whispering to each other, and closed the door behind them.
“Well…” Lola cleared her throat, and the tension in the room dissipated. “I’m guessing it was Aria you were talking about at the cookout all those months ago?”
I turned my head to face her, a small smile lifting at my lips. “You’d be correct.”
“Thank god.” She leaned to the side against Dad. “I hated that Willow chick. She was…” Lola shivered, and I knew the feeling. “Aria and Cade.” She grinned wide. “Should have seen that one coming from a mile away, huh?”
They should have seen it because, from the moment I’d laid eyes on Aria, I knew I would do anything in my power to protect her. I just hadn’t realized how much. But now we were out in the open, and I never wanted to go into hiding again.
“It’s fate, darlin’,” Dad told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Ain’t nobody in this world who can defy fate.”
He was right, which was why I would obey it for the rest of my life. Fate had brought us together, and I’d never let her go again.
* * *
