Page 62

CHAPTER

FORTY-FIVE

REMI

“I can’t just leave, Cort, Sloane will?—”

He puts his hand over my mouth, silencing me. From the dash lights of his truck, I see his eyes boring into mine. “Lie to her,” he says, his words hushed. “Come with me. I need more time with you.” There’s something urgent in his tone. Like he can’t stand another night without me.

He loosens his grip on my mouth, sliding his hand down and smoothing his thumb over my bottom lip. “I’m sorry, I just...” He looks away, his hand around my back gripping me tighter. “I want more time with you. I don’t wanna give you up for the night.”

My throat is tight with those words. With knowing we will have to give it up. That it’ll end at some point.

Whatever healing this is, it’ll break me into pieces all over again when it’s done.

But even still, I glance at my dorm building and imagine Sloane with the apple she’d had in her hand, eyeing me as I lied to her that I was going to the library after Cort texted me that he was in the parking lot.

I know she knows I’m lying and have been, for the past few weeks.

But what can I say?

How could I ever explain this?

It just doesn’t make sense.

“She won’t believe anything I tell her,” I confess to Cortland, his thumb still smoothing over my bottom lip. “She knows I don’t...” I trail off, averting my eyes. “Do anything.”

Cortland laughs, dropping his hand and hauling me over to his side. “You do lots of things, baby. Go to the library. Read weird books. Let my roommate stare at you. Give good head.”

I elbow him and he laughs, his arm tightening around me. “Seriously,” I tell him, “I want to go with you, but I have no good excuse.”

He reaches into the pocket of my hoodie and pulls out my phone, holding it in front of my face.

“Text her,” he says simply. “You don’t want to lie to her face.

Text her that you’ll be in the library a few hours.

” He shrugs, like it’s no big deal. But that’s because Storm knows. He doesn’t have to twist anything.

And why is that?

Shouldn’t Storm hate me, too?

But he doesn’t. That first day, he was aggressive and an asshole just like Cort. But as Cort’s attitude shifted, so did Storm’s. Maybe that’s what friendship is.

Having each other’s backs even if you’re about to jump off of a cliff.

But I don’t want that for Sloane. She’s had her own struggles in her life centering around her parents and their constant arguments.

Her house was far happier than mine, but that doesn’t mean it was perfect.

And she’s had a struggle in being my friend this past year.

Being a victim doesn’t just traumatize you. It affects everyone around you.

If they decide to stay.

And she did. She never left me.

But Cortland... I don’t want to leave him yet, either.

I take the phone from his hand and he smiles down at me.

I open up a text to my best friend and I lie to her, wondering just how long I’ll be able to claim that title in her life.