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“Wolf bought your virginity!” she whisper-yells as if I’m not aware of the development.
Heat and humiliation crawl up my neck before flooding my cheeks. “I need to give the money back.”
Except…half of it has already been spent and there’s no longer a hold on my school account. I paid for the spring semester in full since registration for summer and next fall are right around the corner.
It was only when I was walking into the building after we made that silent—and fairly awkward—ride home from the hotel that my phone chimed with an alert that the final payment had been deposited into my account.
When I’d whipped around to stare, he’d met my eyes briefly before squealing out of the parking lot and onto the dark street, disappearing around the corner.
“Would he even accept it?” she asks cautiously.
“Nope.”
Within seconds, I’d shot him a text demanding that he reverse the funds. At the very least, what he’d just deposited, and he’d flat-out refused.
“I honestly don’t think I could be more shocked.”
I snort. “Join the club.”
For the first time since I sprang the news on Viola, a slight smile quirks the corners of my lips.
“And now you’re going to?—”
She breaks off when my phone chimes with an incoming message. I don’t have to glance at the screen to know who it is. We have another driving lesson this afternoon. As much as I want to cancel, how can I do that when Miles’ car hangs in the balance?
“Hang out with him like nothing happened?” she finishes in disbelief.
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” I mutter before gradually rising to my feet and heading to the dresser to snag my purse.
Just as I cross over the threshold, she says, “Growing up, Wolf was such a big part of your life. Does it help to spend time with him?”
My footsteps falter as that question spirals through my brain. It’s one I’ve been secretly asking myself. I throw a glance over my shoulder until our gazes can fasten. What I find is genuine curiosity mixed with concern.
There were times when it felt like Wolf eclipsed everything else in my world. The sun rose and set on him. And then the worst happened. The two most important people disappeared, leaving me alone. Even though I always had Viola, my world shrank over the years, becoming a pitiful shadow of what it once was. Now that Wolf has forced his way back into my life, it feels like I’m attempting to fight my way free of the suffocating darkness that descended after Miles’ death.
There’s nothing good about my parents losing everything they’ve worked so hard for over the years, but it’s forced me to wake up and become more of an active participant in my own life. I didn’t realize that I was operating on autopilot and allowing things to just happen until I was forced to figure out my shit.
It’s taken me a long time to do that.
Wolf will forever be intertwined with my best and worst memories.
In my descent into darkness and subsequent rise.
His explosion back into my life has only proven that our relationship, what there is of it, is complicated and not easily untangled.
“I think it has.” My voice softens as I attempt to keep my emotions in check. “In a strange way, I feel closer to my brother when we’re together. I’ve spent so much time trying to bury the past, it’s kind of nice to remember and talk about it with someone who loved him just as much as I did.”
Viola nods, emotion flooding her expression. “He loved you so much.” There’s a pause before she murmurs, “They both did. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that Wolf still does.”
My heart clenches painfully until it feels impossible to suck in a lungful of air. “I know.”
“Just know that I’m always here if you want to talk.”
“Thank you.” Viola isn’t only my cousin, but my best friend as well. I’m lucky to have her in my life. She was my rock during a turbulent time. The only person I could cling to and retain a small bit of my sanity with. “I appreciate it.”
The corners of her lips tip upward. “Love ya, cuz.”
Some of the heaviness that has been pinning me to the earth lifts. “Love you, too.”
