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“How are you? For real, Tristan. And I’m not talking about your back.”
He looks away, and I have my answer. He’s said almost nothing of substance since the attack, so I can only guess what’s smoldering in that head of his.
We will follow him into hell.
I take his hand and thread our fingers to hold on tight for what I’m sure will be a difficult conversation.
“Scared,” he says, surprising me with his honesty. Will he actually open up for once?
“Of Pierce? There’s no way he’d come after you again.”
“Of everything. I understand why Kim wants to come clean. The stabbing scared the shit out of her, but anything could happen, Iz. What if it all backfires? What if we both end up with new charges and…”
His eyes are saturated with fear when they rest on me. “It’s not just that. You heard Dad’s update. Pierce was out on bail so fast it probably wasn’t worth the drive to the police station. His father is the king of criminal defense, and Pierce is claiming self-defense. What if they believe him? Any minute, cops could be at the door to pick me up.”
Anxiety spreads through me at the thought. I want to argue with him, but how can I when everything I’ve seen supports his concerns? Still, he needs me to be strong right now. After so many years of fighting on his own, we owe it to him to be a rockhecan lean on for once.
“He stabbed you from behind,” I say, squeezing his hand. “There’s no way anyone in their right mind could believe it was self-defense.”
“But I’m the one who called for the confrontation. He could argue we were grappling and it just happened that way, or he thought I was turning for my own weapon.” He shakes his head and rubs his eyes. “Right now, it’s my word against his, so it will come down to what his friends say. Why the hell would they side with me?”
“You told the cops about the video,” I remind him.
“Yeah, but what if they already destroyed the phones or it doesn’t show what it should? Without concrete evidence, I don’t have a chance. No one ever believes me, Iz. You know that.”
“Then we make them. You’re forgetting a huge piece of the equation.”
I tug his hand until he looks at me.
“You’re not alone anymore. You have your own army of people behind you ready to fight for you. Your parents, me, even the freaking Alexanders. You said you would give your life for me,over and over.Well, guess what, there are many others who would do the same for you.”
I lean forward and trap his face in my hands. “I told you, my life is my choice, and I will chooseyouover and over. You know why?”
His lips tip up. “Why?”
“Because along with all the things you’re not, I also know the one thing youare.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
I press my smile to his. “Mine.”
