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True. A couple of years ago, West found out that both his parents were cheating on each other; had been for years. They finally got a divorce after being married for years and everyone thinking they were the perfect couple. Even West thought so. When they divorced, his view on love changed. At least, that’s what he told me one night after we raided Blaine’s dad’s whiskey cabinet. Blaine had passed out after three shots—the dude’s such a light weight—and West and I stayed up playing cards.
I hugged him that night and, for the craziest moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. But he didn’t, and I’m pretty sure I misread the entire situation. Wouldn’t be the first time. Thankfully, Blaine woke up and puked all over the floor. Yeah, it was gross, but it stopped me from doing something stupid, like leaning in with my lips puckered like a fish.
I’m yanked from my thoughts as Masie nears the car, shouting meaningless apologies at the top of her lungs.
“West, please, pretty please, get me away from the raving lunatic running right at your car,” I say in a desperate plea. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I talk to her, and honestly, I don’t want to deal with it right now.”
“Oh, yeah, right,” he says, like he forgot all about Masie, which would definitely be a first for a guy. He revs up the engine. “Let’s get you out of here.” He shifts gears and presses on the gas, the tires spinning and kicking up a cloud of dirt as we peel out of the parking lot.
I peer over my shoulder out the window and get a sick, satisfying smile on my face at the sight of Masie, surrounded by a cloud of dust, her hair messed up and missing one shoe.
Okay, now that’s a picture I thought I’d never see.
“You look way too pleased right now,” West teases as we speed down the road.
“Sorry.” Not really.
He chuckles. “You don’t need to be sorry about it. Masie deserves a face full of dirt.” He sighs, gripping the steering wheel. “She deserves more for what she did to you.”
I pick at my fingernails, feeling squirmy over how much he seems to understand the situation. I hate feeling squirmy. I like control. Control keeps you from getting hurt. Control stops the pain. Right now, I’m not in control, and that’s probably why my heart aches so badly.
“How long have you known? I mean, about me … liking …” I blow out a breath, unable to say it.
“Blaine?” he finishes, and I nod. He lifts a shoulder, giving a half-shrug. “I first thought you did when we were about sixteen.”
My insides tighten. “How? I mean, what gave me away?”
He moves one hand off the steering wheel to reach over and graze his finger along the corner of my eye. “It was the way you looked at him.”
“Oh.” I crinkle my nose, disappointment in myself. “I didn’t realize I was that obvious.”
“It wasn’t that obvious,” he assures. “At least, not enough for Blaine to catch on.”
I almost relax. “So, he doesn’t know?”
He shakes his head, returning his hand to the steering wheel. “He’s never said anything to me.”
I release a breath of relief. “That’s good.”
He crooks his brow. “Why?”
“Why the hell would I want him to know I’m in love with him?”
His fingers tense on the steering wheel. “So, you are in love with him, huh?”
“I thought you already said you knew?”
“I knew you liked him, and I guessed you might be in love with him, but I wasn’t completely sure.”
I eye him over. Why does he seem so upset about it?
He looks away, focusing on the road, seeming tense.
We drive in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. I get distracted by the car tailing us. At first I think it’s just some asshole riding our ass, but every time West makes a turn, so does the car.
Weird.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but ever since I left Masie’s house, I swear someone’s been following me. Maybe it’s just Masie and Blaine, but what if it’s the asshole who stole my car and left me the note?
“Are you sure you are, though?” West asks so suddenly I nearly scream.
My heart races in my chest as I look at him. “Am I sure what?”
“In love with him.”
Great. Is he still on that?
“What kind of question is that?” I sound offended, and I don’t even know why. He didn’t do anything to me. None of this is his fault.
“I didn’t mean to piss you off,” he says. “But, sometimes people think they’re in love with someone, but their feelings are more of an infatuation.”
“You act like you’re speaking from experience.”
“Nah. It takes me a lot to fall in love with someone.”
“Have you ever been in love before?” I reach into my pocket to silence my phone as it buzzes for the hundredth time, and my fingers graze the edge of the note left in the driveway.
His jaw clenches as he stares ahead at the road. “Maybe once or twice.”
My heart twinges at the hint of pain in his tone. “Aw, West, did someone break your heart?”
Sure, we’re not BFFs—although, at this point, I might beg him to fill in the position since I currently lost two—but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about him.
He gives a shrug. “I’m not sure yet.”
I angle my head to the side in confusion. “That doesn’t really make any sense.”
“Of course it does.” He catches my gaze. “If I haven’t told the person I’m in love with them.”
My lips for an O. “Okay, I get it. So, we’re kind of in the same boat, then, since I haven’t told Blaine how I feel, either.”
“Maybe.” He restlessly taps his fingers on top of the steering wheel. “Do you think you will?”
I firmly shake my head. “Definitely not now.”
“Do you think you would’ve if”—he hesitates—“if you hadn’t caught Masie and Blaine doing … Well, you know.”
Honestly, no, I don’t know. Sure, I saw them kissing, but that doesn’t mean it was the first time they made out. For all I know, they’ve hooked up a ton and I’ve just been blind and naive. Then why did Masie keep insisting Blaine likes me and encouraging me to go for it? Who knows? Perhaps she was messing with my head and getting some sort of twisted pleasure out of watching my heart shatter. That doesn’t really sound like Masie, but at this point, I’m not sure I know her at all. Maybe I never did. Perhaps she was one of those plastic people—fake on the outside and on the inside.
I sigh, casting a glance behind us again to see if the car is still tailing us. Then I breathe in relief. It’s gone. I must just be paranoid.
“What is that in your hand?” West asks suddenly.
“What? This?” When I hold up the note, he nods. I fiddle with the edge of the paper. “Well, on top of finding Masie and Blaine making out in the pool, my car got stolen.”
“What?” West’s eyes enlarge. “Are you shitting me?”
“Nope. I’m one hundred percent shitting free right now, unfortunately.” I unfold the note. “And, on top of everything, I found this in the driveway where my car should’ve been.” I set the note on the console and flatten the edges down.
He quickly reads the note then focuses back on the road. “That is, by far, the weirdest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.” His confusion seems to deepen, and he looks a bit worried.
“So, you’ve never heard of anything like this before? Or seen the symbol?”
He shakes his head, his confusion doubling. “Did you try looking it up on the internet?”
I nod, folding up the note and setting in on my lap. “Yep, and nothing came up.”
He cracks his knuckles against the steering wheel, seeming restless. “Did you find the clue they left behind?”
I shake my head. “Nope. But I didn’t really get a chance to look because Masie came running out of the house and I took off.”
“Did you call the police?”
?
??The note said not to.”
“Yeah, so what? They stole your car. What do they think is going to happen?”
I anxiously tap the note against the palm of my hand. “The note said they’d tell Blaine that I’m in love with him.”
He raises his brows. “Is keeping that a secret really worth losing your car?”
“Who says I’m not going to find it?”
“You act like you’re kind of happy about this, and that you’re going to solve the mystery.”
I smile, and surprisingly, the movement doesn’t ache as much as it did early. I’m not surprised. If there’s one thing I love as much as Blaine, it’s a good mystery. In fact, I think I love mysteries a hell of a lot more right now.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” I say, sitting up straighter in the seat. No more wallowing, Alexis! You’re tougher than this! “I’m going to solve the shit out of the mystery, get my damn car back, and then … Well, that’s all I have right now, but it’s a start.” I pound my hand dramatically against my legs
He chuckles. “Aw, look at you. A cute, little detective. Then again, I’m not surprised. You’ve always been into mysteries.”
“Yeah, I have.” I pause. Wait. Back the hell up. “Wait a sec. Did you just call me cute?”
He rolls his eyes. “I’ve called you cute before.”
Now I roll my eyes. “Yeah, when you were teasing me, which you do all the time, FYI.”
“How do you know I’m teasing you?” he questions, appearing highly amused. “Maybe I mean everything I’ve ever said to you.”
“So, you really believe I’m a fairy princess from the Realm of Spoiled Brat?” I repeat the nickname he gave me in fifth grade.
“Hey, that was a long time ago. You can’t hold that against me, or I’ll hold it against you that you called me West the Pest Who Lives in a Rat’s Nest.” His muses over something. “You know, when I really think about it, we were pretty clever for grade schoolers.”
“I may have been clever,” I tease. “You were just cleverly stupid.”
