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Hayes scoffs. “You know, I am so fucking sick of all the secrets and lies! Let’s just air it all out, shall we? When did you find her?”
“What?”
“When did you find her?” he repeats. “Did she tell you not to tell me after you figured out where she was?”
Mali glances back at me, and that’s all it takes for it to click into place for him.
“Of course,” he huffs. “You never had to find her, because she was never fucking missing to you. You knew where she was the whole goddamn time.”
“Hayes, it’s not her fault. I—“
“No!” He stops me. “I don’t want to hear anything from you. Not right now. I’ve heard enough out of you lately.”
Mali is crying, her tears mixing with the raindrops that pour from the sky. Hayes looks at her like she’s just as responsible for breaking his heart as I am.
“Was any of it real?” he asks. “Were we ever actually friends, or were you just doing your job and babysitting me forher?”
“It was,” she tries to assure him. “I swear, H. I care about you. You’re one of my best friends!”
But he’s not convinced.
“Sure, you care about me. Just not enough to say anything while you watched me look for her. While youhelped melook for her.” He pauses to glance at me, and I know I’m also the target of his anger right now. “You two keep so many secrets for each other, but what about the one you’re keepingfromher?”
Mali’s breath hitches. “Hayes, please.”
“What? Go ahead,” he taunts. “Tell her all about how you’ve been fucking her brother.”
My eyes widen in surprise as Hayes walks away. It’s not the most far-fetched concept. I mean, I’d have to be a moron not to notice the tension between them—especially before I left. I knew there wassomethinggoing on, but what I don’t know is why she didn’t tell me.
She throws her head back, turning around to deal with the mess Hayes just left behind. But instead, she’s faced with much worse as she looks behind me.
“Cam,” she breathes.
His voice comes out completely stoic as he responds. “Riley will be here in twenty minutes. If you leave before that, lock the door.”
He goes to leave, trying to walk past her, but she grabs his arm. “No, please. Don’t go. I can’t lose you, too!”
“Can’tloseme?” He shouts. “Mali, you fucking lied to me! I trusted you! Sure, I could understand why you wouldn’t tell Hayes if Laiken asked you not to. It’s fucked up, and I don’t agree with it, but I’d probably do the same if the situation were reversed.” He pauses, shaking his head. “But that’s my fucking sister. You knew how worried I was about her, and the whole time you knew where she was! You knew enough to take away my pain, and you saidnothing!”
Mali is full on sobbing at this point, and I can’t help but cry with her as I feel her pain. “Please don’t do this.”
Cam pulls himself out of her grasp and shakes his head. “I have to go. I can’t even look at you right now.”
We both watch as he leaves, and once he’s gone, Mali holds her face in her hands as she cries.
“Mal, I’m so sorry,” I murmur.
She scoffs, turning around to glare at me. “You’re sorry?Nowyou’re sorry? I told you this was a fucking bad idea! But you were so goddamn insistent!”
“I know,” I cry. “I never wanted this to blow up on you.”
“Of course, you didn’t,” she says, a little softer this time. “But you’ve been so wrapped up in your own shit that you haven’t even noticed I’m dealing with my own. What Hayes said? It’s only part of it.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugs defeatedly, letting her shoulders fall. “Cam? I’m in love with him. But it’s never been the right time for us, and after this, I don’t know if it ever will be.”
“Oh, Mal.”
