Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
He yanks the hoodie over my head and lets it go. It follows the bike to the muddy depths below, and I swim for the surface, gasping for breath.
I blink away the water in my eyes, Hunter at my side, and look to the empty riverbank.
Everyone who just tried to kill me is gone.
I ball my fists over and over again, shivering under the hot water as it soaks my icy clothes.
Congrats, Dylan. Everyone hates you now.
As if they didn’t already.
For my family, I’m something to handle. For Kade, someone to tolerate. To the Pirates, I’m a girl taking up too much space. And to the Rebels, I’m a toy. Maybe even Aro’s only kind to me because of Hawke.
I peel off my flannel and drop it on the shower floor, hearing it slosh like a wet mop. My teeth chatter and locks of wet hair hang in my eyes as I hug myself over my tank top and jeans.
All the Rebels are no doubt congratulating themselves. They’re probably down in the street, watching the front door in hopes of seeing me run out and back to the Falls.
I squeeze my fists again so tight my nails dig into my palms.
I’m alone here. I’m alone at home.
The shower curtain whips open and I dart my eyes up, seeing Hunter glaring down at me.
“I don’t want you here,” I tell him.
But he steps into the stall anyway, wearing fresh, dry jeans as he squats down in front of me, getting wet again. “I’m the reason you didn’t drown tonight.”
“You’re the reason for all of this,” I try to shout at him, but my throat is thick with tears.
He’s supposed to be on my side. Not Pirates or Rebels. My side. What the hell did I ever do to him? He cut me off. He’ll barely speak to me now.
Steam billows around us and everything blurs in my view. Does he have any idea how hard it’s been at home? What made him think I wouldn’t miss him? This is all his fault.
“You were my best friend,” I say, tearing up. “Did you know that?”
I search his green eyes. They never used to look like his twin brother’s, though. Hunter’s were always a little bigger, as if he were either perpetually in wonder of something or waiting for something.
Now, they’re angry. They’re always formidable.
“I don’t have very many friends,” I tell him, in case he gives a shit. “They talk about me behind my back at school. They’re nice to my face, but they think I’m a joke.”
He narrows his eyes.
“Did you know that?” I ask.
He says nothing.
I swallow through the needles in my throat. People all but pat me on the head and think my entire personality is some phase that I’ll grow out of.
“And you keep looking at me like you hate me,” I whisper, my cheeks burning under his scowl. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
I care about him. I care what he thinks. He’s not just anybody. He’s a part of me. Our fathers are only stepbrothers, but that never mattered.
“Why do you hate me?” I ask. “I needed you. There were so many times when I was dying to tell you things.”
“Tell Kade.”
“I wanted to tell you!” I shout.
Why is he trying to insert me into his and Kade’s bullshit? We’re not a package deal. This is about him and me. No one else.
I know him best.
Or I did.
He was good.
Creative. Generous.
Why is he different now?
“I love you,” I tell him.
He sucks in a short, shallow breath.
The shower spills over his shoulders, down his chest, and the steam wets his hair. His gaze doesn’t falter, though.
“There’s no one like you.” I smile a little as I soften my voice. “You’re always reading five books at a time. You buy Christmas presents for other people’s pets. You never eat bread crust. Like even if it’s a hamburger bun, you’ll invent a crust that isn’t there…”
Like, seriously. He leaves a crescent of bread. Even on a hot dog bun.
“You tell me everything I missed when I come back from the bathroom at a movie theater,” I point out.
My brother hates it when I do that.
“And you hate it as much as I do,” I add, “when people eat while talking on TikTok videos, and then they make you wait while they take more bites and chew. It’s so obnoxious, right?”
Amusement rises in his eyes.
“I can hear your smiles when you talk,” I say. “I love that all of my baseball caps were once yours, and I love that you look for me.” I pause. “Or you used to.”
Maybe I didn’t realize all of this when he was around—or realize how much I’d miss him—but I always knew I loved him. He and Kade were never one person. It wasn’t both or nothing. They were always distinguishable from each other. I need Hunter.