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“And you kept it all these years?”
He nodded. “I always hoped to thank you and give it back. Which might seem like overkill, but that moment meant a lot to me. Nobody had ever stood up for me before.”
“How did you expect to do that?” she demanded.
“In time, I found you on social media,” he admitted.
“You’ve been stalking me online? For years, it seems.” She took a step back, hands out as if to ward off his weird, obsessive tendencies.
Eli moved away as well, not wanting her to feel pressed. “No! Haven’t you randomly wondered about someone you used to know and searched their name?”
Iris sighed. “Okay, I admit it. But only with certain exes. Like, I do sometimes wallow in anger and regret and look at pictures Dylan and Lily have posted.”
Finally, a small break.Not enough to give him hope.
He glanced past her, watching a few crows settle on the electrical lines beyond her window. Crows were clever as hell, and they always seemed to know when something terrible was about to happen. How fitting.
Eli made himself say, “Then you understand to some degree. I looked up to you in grade school, that’s it. And at one point, I was curious how you were doing. I thought about contacting you, but I was afraid you’d think it was weird.”
She nodded sharply. “It would’ve been, yeah. Actually, I think I do remember now. Big kid, name was… Nope, it’s not coming to me.”
If anything, Eliwishedhe could forget, but his memory was uncomfortably precise on certain details. “Roddy Frierson. He made elementary school a living hell for me until you intervened. You threatened to tell his grandma.”
Iris snapped her fingers, seeming pleased over retrieving the recollection. “Yeah! He cried. I’d forgotten about that until now.” Her sudden smile faded. “You fixate, huh? That wasn’t a big deal to me back then. Shouldn’t have been to you either.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
Her lip curled. “Whatever. So I was your childhood hero and you looked me up later on socials. That’s how you recognized mein the café. Did you go there intending to meet me?” Her expression gave nothing away now, but her gaze was cold and wary, as if she was already braced for the worst.
“No!” Maybe if he spoke quickly enough, she’d believe him. “I was in town working on Gamma’s house before you arrived. Meeting you was a total coincidence. I went over, just intending to introduce myself and thank you. That’s it! If you recall,youassumed I wanted to rent a room, so I was extremely confused, and then…”
“And then?”
Yeah, she won’t like this. But it’s true.
“When I understood your financial situation, I wanted to help.”
“Which is why you rented my most expensive room. Because youpitiedme. When you didn’t even need a place to stay. Well, fuckyou, Eli. You could’ve left St. Claire weeks ago there’s nothing to hold you here.”
You’re here,he wanted to say. But she wouldn’t believe any declarations at this stage, so he didn’t speak the words. Better to keep them than hear her call him a liar again. That fucking stung, even if she had it right.
“I just wanted to repay you,” he said.
“Let’s say that’s true… It’s still important to get someone’s consent. I never authorized you to act as my agent with the coven. I’m not okay with being sugar babied. Maybe you felt sorry for me this whole time, but I’m not interested in that either.”
He stepped toward her, and she moved back.Message received. We’re not people who touch anymore. Fuck, that hurts.“You can’t turn away their help because of me.”
“I already have. This is my issue to solve. I’ll accept the braceletand your thanks, nothing more. Any debt between us is more than repaid. You gave me a lot of emotional support these past months, and that’s all I wanted from you. Sally said you had your reasons, but I frankly don’t care. Lies are lies.”
“So we’re done?” he asked, not wanting the answer but needing it.
Her gray eyes were like a heavy bank of storm clouds. “I’m sure you foresaw that. If you move out, we’re one step closer to solving the issue.”
“What can I do?” he whispered. “How can I make it up to you?”
Iris replied with brutal honesty. “You can’t. I fell in love with someone else, the person you werepretendingto be. There’s only broken trust now. The real you? I don’t know that guy, and I don’t belong with him either.”
You do. You know everything about me that matters.But the words couldn’t fit past the tightness of his throat.
