hapter 87
Chapter 87
SLOANE
I don’t know what I’m doing right now, but I’m absolutely sure I care about this man. And I know that finding out his sister, the same one whose death tore him and Finn apart, is actually alive won’t go down easy.
It didn’t go down easy for me either.
I was mad at Victoria after she told me. I called her evil and told her to get lost. Then I got into the car and drove off with my foot pushing hard against the gas.
But the truth is, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. All evening, it’s been bouncing around inside me, twisting up my insides. Should I tell him? Should I not? Is it better to leave the past where it lies, or does Knox deserve to know?
He grips the wheel tighter at the mention of his mother, and even though his words are calm, I can feel the shift in him.
“She got to you, didn’t she?” he asks.
“Yeah. She did.”
His jaw flexes as he exhales.
“That woman is very determined. All you have to do is put Finn in a desperate situation, and she starts her campaign. Did she offer you money this time? She loves handing out checks.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Unfortunately, no.”
www
“Would you have taken it? I remember her saying back in Asheville that she offered you money to date Finn.” He shakes his head and chuckles. “From the look of things, you turned her down. People don’t often turn my mother down. You spent ten years chasing someone, and then his mother offers you money to date him, and you say no. That’s when I knew. That was the moment I became convinced I wanted you.”
I glance at him.
“She told you that?”
“Yup. Right after warning me to leave you alone. Said I should prioritize my brother’s happiness.
“Why didn’t you?” I ask. “Why didn’t you leave me alone, Knox?”
He doesn’t look at me, but his right hand moves off the wheel and rests gently on my lap. His fingers are warm, heavy in that comforting way that lets me know he’s present even when he doesn’t have the words.
“Do you have any idea how many times I prioritized my brother’s happiness?” he says, voice steady. “Never again. I liked you, and there was no stopping me, especially not from a speech about Finn’s happiness that I’ve heard a million times. By the way, where are we even going, Bunny? This part of the city looks like where people get kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking.”
I point. “Turn right there. We’re almost there.”
“You’re not going to tell me what’s there?”
“You’ll see soon enough”
He goes quiet, obeying without question, but I can tell he’s wary. The streets grow narrower. A quietness settles between us, broken only by the sound of
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the engine and the faraway echo of a siren.
We roll into a neighborhood with old brick buildings and ivy–covered walls. The streetlamps here are dim, in the far corner, fucked behind a rusted iron gate, stands a cathedral that looks like it belongs to a forgotten century.
The Cathedral of Saint Aurelia. Abandoned now.
“Is that a church?” Knox says, squinting.
“An abandoned cathedral,” I reply.
“And we’re going in?”
“Yeah.”
“Should I bring a gun?”
“Don’t you dare.”
He groans. “It wouldn’t matter anyway. Guns won’t kill whatever ghosts live in there.”
We step out, and I wrap my arms around myself. Knox comes to stand beside me, taking off his jacket and placing it across my shoulders. One hand then slips around my waist.
The gate creaks when I push it open. I pull out my phone, turn on the flashlight, and guide him through the musty entrance.
“Is this where you made out with boys in high school?” he says behind me.
“In a church? I wasn’t making out with anyone.”
“Smoking weed, then?”
“None of that,” I say, finding the old confessional tucked into the side. “I found this place the day I stole my dad’s car. I was fifteen. Just driving around,
crying.”
He watches as I push open the narrow door to the confessional, revealing the hidden entrance inside..
“Why were you crying?” he asks as we squeeze through.
“He brought a woman home and said she was going to live with us.”
“You didn’t want your dad to date?”
“I always thought my mom would come back. I thought he was replacing her. I cut up the woman’s clothes with scissors. My dad got mad. Said I was being a child. That my mom wasn’t coming back. I took his keys and left.”
The stairwell is narrow, and Knox has to crouch behind me as we climb.
“Did she leave? This woman?”
“What do you think?”
“So you were your dad’s cockblocker.”
“Maybe. He waited until I left the house before remarrying.”
He laughs as we near the rooftop, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head. “Even at fifteen, you were a terrorist. I bet your dad couldn’t wait until you left for college.”
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Chapter 87
“Mmhmm.”
May GuB
We push open the rooftop hatch, stepping into the open air.
The view is eerie but beautiful. The rooftop is flat and scattered with gravel.
Knox glances around. “So, what do we do now?”
“Enjoy the view.”
He squints. “The view is dark. Are we supposed to be seeing something?”
I lie down on the dusty floor and pat the space beside me. “By view, I meant the stars. They look better from up here.”
He hesitates. Then sighs. Carefully, he lies beside me.
The stars are faint but visible. Pinpricks of silver in the ink sky.
“So, Knox,” I say, turning my head to him. “Your turn.”
“My turn?”
“I just told you a secret. Now you tell me one.”
“That’s what people do when they look at stars? They share secrets?”
“Kind of.”
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He sighs. “Alright. I used to have a crush on a teacher in middle school.”
“Who didn’t? Tell me something big.”
“Okay. I lost my virginity at thirteen.”
“Thirteen? You were a slut even at a young age.”
He laughs. “If it’s any consolation, I found it weird.”
“That’s great, but it’s still not big enough. I brought you to my sanctuary and told you I sabotaged all my dad’s relationships. Tell me something that actually matters to you.”
He turns to face me, the stars catching in his eyes. “Don’t be afraid, Bunny. You have something on your mind, and you can just say it. What do you want
to know?”
“Alright. What happened between you, Finn, and your sister?”
He stiffens. His silence stretches for a long while, but eventually, he speaks.
“There was an incident. She was taken to the hospital. And she died. My father got mad. Said I either go away and atone for my imaginary sins or he’d turn me over to the police to be tried as an adult. So I enlisted.”
“What was the incident?”
He sighs. “You know, I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that you met my mother and all of a sudden you’re interested in my dead sister. What exactly did she say to you, Bunny?”
“Well, she wants you to show brotherly affection to Finn.”
“You know I won’t.”
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“And I respect it. I just want to know why you hate him so much.”
“I don’t hate him. Sometimes we get along. But if you’re asking why we don’t often see eye to eye, it’s because he lied and it ruined my life.”
“Was the lie about your sister?”
He nods once.
“So if she were alive, would that change anything between you two?”
He turns his head, staring at me. “What?”
“If Lydia were alive-”
“Why would you even ask that?”
I sit up slowly. “Your mother told me she sent her away to clean up the mess between you and Finn. She said Lydia is alive. She’ll tell you where she is if you help Finn.”
His face drains of color. Every line in it tightens.
“Can you repeat what the hell you just said?”
“Lydia is alive, Knox.”
He sits up too. “I’m sorry, but are you telling me that my mother had the guts to use my dead sister’s name to manipulate me?”
