AllFreeNovel
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“What? No, I—”
He pecks my mouth to shut me up. “I pulled him aside before you got here. Told him you’d convinced me to come clean and he owed it all to you. We made a deal.I agreed to take the heat as long as they leave your name out of it. Duke never has to know shit.”
I’m ugly crying at this point.
Partly because I’ve never been so relieved in my life.
But also…. because I’ve never felt so guilty.
“You planned this? When?” I sniffle.
“As soon as Dia told me you were leaving.”
Taken aback, I give myself a moment to let it sink in.
“They can do whatever the hell they want to me, Vee, but not you—never you.”
“But… What about you?” My voice cracks. “Your dreams? Your scholarship? You didn’t have to do this, Xav. I was ready to leave. I was okay with it.”
Xavier laughs and reels me into his arms, resting his chin on top of my head. “Well, that’s too fucking bad, because I’m not.”
Crying my eyes out, I sag into his embrace, bunching up the bloodstained fabric of his shirt between my fingers and inhaling his scent. His busted lip is looking rough, so I drop a small kiss on the non-bloody corner of his mouth.
He said it himself.
Everything went to hell.
And it’s going to keep going to hell.
Tomorrow, next week, next month.
The difference is… I don’t care.
Because I found someone worth walking through fire for.
“I love you, L,” Xavier whispers, brushing his thumb across my lower lip, and I laugh at the nickname.
“I love you, Z,” I croak.
He smiles.
I smile.
Then I move Xavier from my “Things I Loved and Lost” mind drawer to a completely new drawer.
One I never had before.
My favorite drawer of all time.
Things I Loved and Kept.
