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Ava frowns at him. “Liam.”
He holds up his hands. “Sorry. As supportive as I want to be, I’m still on the fence about it. Until I’m onethousandpercent sure he’s a good guy and will treat Chloe right.”
I smile at him through my tears. “Thanks.” I take the note from Aidan and read the words another time. “I wish…” Fresh tears pour down my face. “I need…”
“Chloe?” Lily puts her hand on my shoulder.
“I need to know who he is, guys. I’ve been losing sleep over it. And I can’t take it anymore.”
“You mean…?” Ava’s eyes widen as she looks at Willow.
“Operation Hack into the School’s Security System?” Xavier whispers.
Willow’s expression turns serious. “If that’s what you want, Chloe, I’d be happy to oblige. But I need to know thatiswhat you want. One hundred million percent.”
I play with my hair as I pace the area near my locker. “I don’t know.” I sigh as I quicken my pacing. “How long has it been since I got my first letter? Nearly a month. It feels like it’s been ages. How much longer can I wait until he reveals himself? What if he never does? What if I spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been?”
I slowly turn around to face them. “Or worse. What if it’s a prank? What if it’s been Paisley all this time? What if she stretches it for months, plays me for months? I could get hurt.”
Liam’s face grows furious. “I hadn’t considered that. If Paisley is behind this, I’ll—”
“It’snotPaisley,” Lily stresses. “No way in heck is it her.”
“Like I said before, this isn’t a romance novel, Lily,” her brother tells her. “This might not end up in a happily ever after.”
“It will,” she insists.
“I want it so badly for Chloe.” Ava rests her hand on Lily’s arm. “But I don’t want to encourage her when there’s a chance it could be a prank.”
Lily looks from one of us to the other, a stubborn frown settling on her face. Then her shoulders fall. “I guess it’s possible.”
“So…I hack into the school security system,” Willow says, raising her brow at me.
I nod. “Ineedto know who he is. It’s not fair that he knows who I am but has been hiding his identity from me all this time. Besides, maybe this is what he needs. Maybe he’s too shy and nervous to reveal himself and wants me to figure out who he is. Maybe I’ll do him favor.”
Everyone is quiet as they think it over.
“Maybe,” Ava says.
“Look, he’s been stringing Chloe along for weeks,” Willow says. “She’s been imagining him in her head. What if he doesn’t live up to her expectations? The more he stretches this out, the more Chloe will fall for an imaginary version of him. She needs to know who he is so she can fall for the real him. Not her own fantasy version.”
“Willow has a point,” Aidan says. “I think the sooner she discovers who he is, the better.”
I take a deep breath and let it out. “You think hacking in is still the best option, Willow? We can try using the small cameras before we do something drastic like that. I don’t want you to question your morals.”
She grimaces. “Forget my morals. The guy is starting to annoy me a bit. He’s baring his heart out to you by writing sweet poems, but he doesn’t have the courage to speak to you face to face? Makes me wonder what he’s hiding.”
“You mean…he could be a serial killer.”
That causes Willow to chuckle. “He goes to our school, Chloe. Unless we’re harboring a criminal here…”
“Oh. Right.” I laugh lightly. “But it could be anyone. I need to know who he is before I let myself …” I avert my gaze to the floor. “Fall for him.”
They nod in understanding. Before anyone can say anything, the bell rings.
“Think about it throughout the day, Chloe, okay?” Willow says. “If you still want to…you know, we’ll get together at my place after school.”
With my heart racing, I nod. “Okay. Thanks.”
