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What? I miss you.
I miss you too, but tomorrow we get to spend the day together.
…with a hyper four-year-old.
It was a joke—I couldn’t wait to spend the day with Eli and Becca. I’d planned a surprise for them both. But it meant we would have to be on our best behavior, something that was getting harder and harder every time we were together. My cell phone pinged.
You love him.
Yeah. I do.
I’d almost added something else, but I didn’t know if she was ready to hear it. Those three words changed things. There would be no coming back from them, and I’d just got her back. I didn’t want to risk scaring her off.
Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.
Night, Evan.
I closed my eyes and imagined a different life for myself. One with Becca and Eli. It was a dream, wishful thinking, but in a place like Credence, it was all you had.
CHAPTER25
BECCA
My hands trembledat my sides, slick with sweat. I hated this. Everything about it felt wrong—waswrong. But it was the only way I could protect myself.I knew that now.
I thought I could ignore Kendall and she would go away. But she wasn’t going to, and now she had me right where she wanted me.
Her heavy stare burned into me, and I glanced back, meeting her eyes. Pleading.Don’t make me do this. An ugly smirk cracked over her face, and she motioned for me to get on with it.I pulled out the white note she’d given me earlier, taking a second to check no one was around and slipped it through the vent on my friend’s locker. When I turned around, twisted satisfaction shone in her eyes and an unspoken message passed between us.
Stage one, complete.
* * *
“Lilly, what is it?” I jogged up to her as she cut across the grass, eyes raw and puffy.
“I…” She sniffled. “Jay… I think Jay’s cheating on me.”
“He would never,” I said with conviction, guilt swamping me.
“I got a note, but I think it was for him.”
“A note? What did it say?”
“I-I can’t, Becca. Sorry.” She barged past me, tears dripping down her face, and rushed inside.
“What was that all about?” Evan appeared, his gaze settled on me. Did he know? Could he see the betrayal in my eyes?
“Lilly thinks Jay is cheating.”
“You’re joking, right? He would never…”
I shrugged, pressing myself into his frame, hiding the shame on my face. Evan’s arms looped around me and he held me.
“Eli loved yesterday.”
“It was fun.” We’d had a great time. Except every laugh, every smile was strained, dragged down by Kendall’s instructions. My first dare. If the four-year-old noticed my agitation as we spent the time at the fairground visiting the next town over, he didn’t let on. His older brother however… well, I was pretty certain he sensed the change in me. I’d tried to distract him with my touch, my kisses… my body. But from the way he held me now, I wasn’t sure my plan had worked.
“Are you sure everything is okay?” He stared down at me, and I nodded, forcing my best smile.“You’d tell me though? If something was going on, you’d tell me?”
