Page 194 of Dear Love, I Hate You (Easton High)

Shit, she got me with that one.

I tense up, my jaw twitching.

“Let her take the fall, Xav. Protect your blood. Protect the people who would protect you. They’re your real family.”

I laugh in her face. She has no idea how ironic this is. My phone pings in my suit pocket, and I peel my mom’s hands off my face before checking the screen. I let myself hope Vee texted me back for a second, but nope, I’m not that lucky.

It’s Finn.

Finn: Tell Brie to jerk you off quicker. You’re late.

I cringe.

Finn’s my oldest friend, but he’s so oblivious it’s almost unbearable. Still can’t believe he thinks I got back with Brie by choice. In his defense, I’m the one keeping him out of the loop. Hard to talk to someone when you can’t tell them the whole story without also telling them that your mother fucked their brother.

“I have to go,” I tell my mom, cold as fucking Antarctica, and race downstairs to meet my dad in the kitchen. Just before I get into his car, I shoot Aveena a thousandth and final text.

Xavier: Look, I know you’re leaving tomorrow and you have no fucking reason to listen to me, but please, just come to the party at Finn’s house.

Then I’ll never text you again.

P.S: I still hate you.

Aveena

In case you were wondering how my mother reacted to the caterpillar tattoo I’ve kept hidden for years…

The answer is not well.

I knew from the moment I squeezed into the black, spaghetti-strap dress Dia gave me for my birthday that I was tempting fate. My mom spent years in the dark about the memory stamped across her own daughter’s skin, and she didn’t hesitate to share her disapproval with me.

I jumped at the chance to remind her I’d basically given up my whole life to follow her and Ashley to LA.

Needless to say, it shut her right up.

I was lying in bed, drowning my sorrows in chocolate and ice cream when Xavier’s text popped on my phone screen. I’d been careful not to check his messages in fear of falling victim to my feelings and texting him back, but for some reason…

I granted this text one peek.

Unfortunately, one was enough.

Xavier: Look, I know you’re leaving tomorrow and you have no fucking reason to listen to me, but please, just come to the party at Finn’s house.

Then I’ll never text you again.

P.S: I still hate you.

I can’t pinpoint when or how Xav found out about LA, but it didn’t stop me from hopping in the shower, then texting Dia, who’s been harassing me to come to the party all day, a quick “Changed my mind, I’ll see you there.”

I still hate you. I played his words in my head until my h

eart begged me to stop. The hidden meaning isn’t lost on me.

I love him, too.

So much.

But Xav and I…