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“What Brian asked.”
And then she shuts the door.
Maeve is sitting on the porch steps when I pull into the driveway, leaning back on her palms and staring up at the stars. I exhale before turning off the sedan and climbing out. Shutting the door and walking over to take a seat beside her.
We sit in silence for a few minutes.
“Natalie Jacobs, Liam?”
I have a response primed and ready to go. “You’regoing to lecture me about getting involved with someone from Alleghany, Maeve? Really?”
“So you are?Involvedwith her?”
“It’s complicated.”
“It’s a yes or no question.”
I rest my elbows on my knees. “We’ve hooked up a few times, yeah.”
“Whyher? There are so many other girls you could get involved with.”
“Girls from Glenmont?”
“Or Arlington. Oranyonefromanywherewho isn’t a bitchy cheerleader with a queen bee complex. You saw her strutting around in her bikini at Wes’s party. She’s a total—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, Maeve.”
Maeve laughs, but it’s a sad sound. “Liam. This is a game to her. You are a game to her. Maybe she’s trying to get back at Wes. Maybe she’s just bored. But she’s going to break your heart.”
I scoff. “No one is breaking anything. And this isn’t a game. You don’t know her.”
“And you do?”
“I know a lot more than you do.”
“Did you know she made Maggie’s life a living hell when she moved to Alleghany? Excluded her from everything? Did you know she kissed Wes in front of me? Did you—”
“Yes, I knew all that.”
Maeve pauses. Appraises me. “So you’re friends with her.”
“Like I said, we’re complicated. Things got…complicated.”
“Stop saying complicated like it’s an answer! There’s a video of you punching Brian Baylor at a party in Alleghany all over social media. You left Matt’s party to see Natalie Jacobs? Why?”
“Because she asked me to pick her up.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, actually. I didn’t ask.”
“She set you up.”
At that, I laugh. “No, she didn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because webothwanted to keep it a secret, Maeve. She’s going to get shit about me, just like you’re giving me shit about her. You should have heard what Baylor was saying to her. That’s why I punched him.”
