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Shepley made a face, looking like he suddenly smelled something revolting. “Well, that’s fuckin’ rude.”
Travis moved me off his lap and then scrambled over the couch, tackling his cousin to the tile floor in the kitchen.
Shepley grunted when his knee hit the lower cabinet door, and then he yelped as Travis grabbed for his crotch. “Quit fighting dirty, douche balloon!” Shepley cried.
America leapt back, narrowly missing Travis’s quickly moving legs.
I moved to stand next to her, hooking my arm around hers.
“Are you sure you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” she asked. “You’re in this now, you know. This is yours.”
“You’re next,” I said, tugging on her arm.
“Oh, no. Just because you got married as a freshman doesn’t mean the rest of us are crazy.” She looked at me, confused. “Which is just … weird. Explain this to me, you have a near-death experience and decide to run off to Vegas and get married?”
“We’re not talking about this, remember?” I said.
She shrugged. “I just … I need to know.”
I took a few steps away from her and then turned around, crossing my arms. “No, you don’t Mare. Just leave it alone.”
The boys stopped fighting, and Shepley stood, breathing hard. “Mare,” he warned. “You promised.”
“I just … I still can’t understand why you did it. We all know you love him, but marriage wasn’t even on your radar, Abby. The fire breaks out, and you two just happened to decide to elope ...” Recognition flickered in her eyes. “There’s more you’re not telling us, isn’t there? Abby …?” America began, suspicious.
“You’re ridiculous, just stop,” I said.
“But, I’m right, aren’t I?” she asked. “You did it for an alibi. I mean, that would make sense, I don’t blame you, but—”
“There is no but!” I pointed to Travis, who looked like he was about to throw up. “I love him! I’ve loved him since the moment I saw him. I almost lost him, Mare!” I said, my voice breaking. “I saw him across the room in that basement and he couldn’t get to me. He couldn’t get to me! He was screaming at Trent to get me to safety, and that might’ve been the last time I saw him. What might’ve been his last moments on this earth, he was only thinking of me, and even then, if he hadn’t stayed behind, if he hadn’t risked a horrible death to find me and break the window so we could get out, I wouldn’t be here. He saved my life! So, I’m sure what you’re asking is if the fire made me realize I will never love anyone else the way I love him, that he loves me more than his own life, and I don’t want to spend another second without him. Because the answer is yes!”
Tears flooded America’s eyes. “Abby …”
“Don’t cry,” I said, forcing myself to calm down. I didn’t get angry with America often but seeing the expression on Travis’s face made me desperate to protect him. “Stop crying, Mare. It’s okay. We’re not going to talk about this again. We weren’t there, remember?”
“We know,” Shepley said. He hugged his girlfriend to his side, still trying to catch his breath. His cheeks were flushed from unsuccessfully grappling with his much larger cousin. “We know, right, Mare?”
America’s bottom lip quivered. “I’m sorry.”
I turned to hug her, then Shepley joined in. I reached for Travis, and he held all of us in his arms.
Chapter Four
Silver
Abby
PLATES, POTS, AND SILVERWARE CLINKEDand banged together, muffled by the running water pouring out of the tap. Steam floated from the sink basin as America and I rinsed the few remnants of Travis’s trademark Cajun Chicken Pasta from the dishes and placed them into the dishwasher.
Shepley was wiping down the stove and countertops. No one had said much during dinner, in part because Travis was an amazing cook, but mostly because we weren’t sure how to talk about the truth without incriminating everyone in the room.
Shepley finished up and then patted America’s backside. “Want me to take over?”
“We’ve got it,” America said. Once Shepley joined Travis in the living room, she paused, leaving the water running over the plate in her hands.
“Mare?”
She sniffed. “I’m such an idiot, Abby. I don’t know what I was thinking,” she whispered. “Should I apologize to him?”
