The Princess and The Jester - A.D. McCammon Page 0,59

you have to say. If not, you drop it and don’t bring it up again. Deal?”

He’s giving me an out. And I want to take it so bad—to not let things from the past ruin our future. But, how much longer can I last carrying this around?

Secrets never stay buried forever.

“Okay,” I reluctantly agree.

“If the tables were turned, would you want me to tell you?”

It’s impossible to decide if you’re willing to have your world flipped upside down. Who’s to say what the view will look like from the other side? But my life has been extremely different from Cole’s. There hasn’t been a lot of good for him to cling to. He has his mother and the good memories of his dad. When that’s all you have, nothing is worth the risk of losing them.

“No.” I shake my head, more tears spilling down my face.

“Good,” he chirps, the smile on his lips not quite reaching his eyes. “It’s settled then. Now, eat your breakfast.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Present

COLE

Thatcher’s Benz speeds away from Cory’s house with me in the passenger seat. I shoot Gwen a quick text message to explain what happened and apologize for leaving her there alone.

As soon as Thatch got back in town, he came looking for Violet. The poor bastard showed up at Cory’s end-of-summer bash tonight, expecting to pick things up with Saint exactly where they’d left off. But Violet wasn’t having it. She ran, he chased her, and I had to play interference.

The things I do for my friends.

Thatch looked like he was ready to deck me for a minute. Not that I blame him. He spent the entire summer not being able to see or talk to Violet. She didn’t respond to a single letter he wrote her. All he wanted was to be with his girl again—to make things right. But Cory’s party wasn’t the time or place. She wasn’t ready to hear what he had to say.

Once he calmed down, I talked him into leaving with me so we could catch up. I hated the idea of ditching Gwen, but Mia was with her. And a party was the last place Thatcher needed to be while he was all worked up. He doesn’t need to get in any more fights.

Gwen: It’s fine. Mia said she would give me a ride. I’ll see you at home later.

I’m not sure I’d be so understanding in her shoes. Tonight was supposed to be about me and Gwen—our first big outing as a couple. Senior year starts Monday. We wanted to get all the awkwardness with people from school out of the way. They’ve known us as enemies for the last two years. Before that, everyone thought of us as siblings. It’s only natural for people to be a little thrown when they find out we’re dating.

To be honest, I haven’t fully wrapped my head around it all yet either. Things with Gwen have been incredible the last few weeks. We’ve definitely been making up for some of the time we lost. Date nights, long conversations, and sex. So much sex.

I never thought we would make it back to this place. Everything seemed too fucked up, beyond repair. And as happy as I am about being wrong, there’s a part of me worrying we’ve put a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.

“Is that Saint?” Thatcher asks, breaking the silence that was lingering between us.

There’s still a heavy tension between us, a lot we need to work out. But we’re like brothers, we’ll fight it out if we have to.

“No,” I groan. “It was actually my girl. The one I had to leave at the party to take care of your ass.”

He takes his eyes off the road, glaring at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Your girl? Jesus, I’m gone for two months. Now Arwen is attending parties with the football players and you’re dating someone?”

I laugh. “Wait until I tell you who the bad girl of Westbrook was there to see.”

“She’s seeing a football player?” He shakes his head as I nod. “That’s insane, but I’m more interested in your girl right now. Last I heard you were hung up on someone hiding behind a screen name.”

Thatcher gave me hell when I told him about Phantom Girl, called me an idiot for talking to someone without even knowing their name. He was right too, and I knew it. That’s why I lied about talking to her on the phone.

“Yeah…about that. That’s actually who I’m with. Turns out