Page 81 of The Deception You Weave

He turns and stares at me for a beat.

"Yeah, she came by last night. Why?"

My lips part but I swallow down the words that are on the tip of my tongue. I don't want them to think anything is wrong if she doesn't want them to know.

"N-no reason."

His brow quirks as he stands with his arms folded across his chest waiting for me to elaborate, only I never do.

"Do you actually like her? Are you actually going to turn into a decent fucking human being and treat her how she should be treated?"

Fuck, I want to say yes. And that thought in itself shakes me to my fucking core.

I want to be good enough. I clearly fucking wasn't a year ago when she needed me. She might blame herself because she was scared. But all that is on my head, not hers.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Shit between us… it's complicated. She told me some stuff over the weekend that changed things. Things she should have told me about a long time ago and fuck… I don't… I don't fucking know what to do with it." Lifting my hands, I run my fingers through my wet hair and tug until it hurts.

"It's all my fucking fault that she's here. That she had to give up Columbia. That she's been through so much fucking pain. I just—fuck." I breathe, noticing the shocked look on his face and realizing that I've said too much. "Fuck, forget I said anything."

An incredulous look appears on his face.

"Oh yeah, because that is going to happen. Letty is one of my best friends, Kane. She's been there for me when I needed her most, and I fully fucking intend on doing the same for her."

"So where were you last year?" I bark, knowing full well that she was alone. Where the fuck was he then? He doesn't even know what happened to her. Neither of them do.

He pales, his lips parting to respond, but I already know he doesn't have an argument.

"We all got sucked into our new lives."

"Yeah, well. She needed you, someone, any-fucking-one, and we were all too distracted by life."

"What happened?"

I shake my head. "Nice try, but you're going to have to talk to her if you want to know. I have no right to spill any of her secrets."

"Fair enough." He falls silent behind me as I clean up my knuckles and begin pulling on some clothes, ready to head to class. "Do you really want her?"

"Do you?"

"Uh…"

"All's fair in love and war, Dunn. May the best man win."

With one final look in his direction, I swipe my bag from the bench and throw it over my shoulder. My muscles ache with the movement but like fuck am I allowing him to see that. He's already seen more than I was willing to show, he's not getting another ounce from me.

I jump in my car, wasting no time in turning the engine over and flooring it out of the lot. I've got someone I need to see.

Glancing down at the clock, I notice that I've got a bit of time before class. Hopefully, she'll still be there and Luca fucking Dunn won't have beat me to it.

Campus is still relatively quiet as I pull into the parking lot, run my hand through my still wet and messy hair, and climb from the car.

The jog up the stairs makes my legs burn after my long morning but I don't let it stop me, I just have to take a moment to catch my breath when I get to the top like a fucking pussy.

It's easy to forget about the accident and my short hospital stay when I'm so focused on getting back to normal life.

Once I've caught my breath, I march for the main door and walk inside as if I live here.

The brunette girl is in the kitchen cooking something that makes my mouth water as I approach, but it's not just her because every single set of eyes, aside from the pair I want, turn to stare back at me.