out in twenty, you should probably call the police because one of us most likely killed the other.”
Cole snorts. “Duly noted.”
I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans and grab my crutches from the back seat.
I didn’t plan on coming to Jace and Dylan’s apartment but when I asked Sawyer where she might be so I could talk to her, she caved and told me she was here.
I might not like Dylan for what she’s done in the past, but I’m willing to hear her side of things because Jace is so damn miserable without her it’s hard to look at him.
Drawing in a deep breath, I knock on her apartment door.
It opens a moment later.
Dylan’s eyes are puffy, like she’s been crying all day. “What do you want?”
“Can we talk?”
Her eyes narrow. “That depends, are you gonna call me a whore again?”
I shrug. “Only if you’re cheating on my brother.”
She steps to the side, gesturing for me to come in. “I’d never cheat on Jace.”
The sincerity in her eyes tells me it’s the truth.
But if that’s the case, I don’t know what to make of what I overheard this morning.
I hobble to the couch and take a seat. “Then who was this guy you missed so much and wanted to see behind his back?”
Sighing, she pinches the bridge of her nose. “My father.”
Color me confused. “Huh?”
She opens the fridge, takes out two bottles of water, and hands me one.
“My dad’s in jail again.”
Stone’s words from a few weeks ago flit through my head.
I love Jace, but plastering photos of her dad’s mugshot all over school was fucked up.
So was me jumping to conclusions.
“I’m sorry.”
She plops down on the far side of the couch. “Yeah, me too.”
A weird thought occurs to me. “Why would you need to hide seeing your dad from Jace?”
Jace is all about family so it makes no sense to me.
I’m not sure what to make of the expression on her face. “Because he wants me to stay away from him.”
“Why?”
“Um…” She swallows hard. “Well…let’s just say he made a really bad mistake and your brother no longer thinks he’s a good person.”
“But he’s still your dad. Your family.”
Jace is the most stubborn person I’ve ever met, but I can’t see him forbidding Dylan to see her own father.
But if he did, well…I guess I can see why she’d want to sneak around.
“I know,” she whispers, sadness flickering in her eyes.
It makes sense now why Sawyer said she’s been putting her own pain on the backburner to be there for Jace.
For me.
The girl has been dealing with a lot.
“Boy, I really screwed up, huh?”
A small smirk touches her lips. “Kind of.” She shrugs, that sadness returning again. “But Jace and I were bound to have it out about this sooner or later.”
I know she’s only saying that to make me feel better, but it doesn’t.
In fact, it only makes me feel worse…about everything.
Wondering how wrong I’ve been about other things, I can’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you turn Liam down when he asked you to go to the dance?”
I need to know if she intentionally used him to get back at Jace.
She exhales sharply. “Because I had no idea Liam liked me like that. He told me he wanted to go as friends and that’s honestly what I thought we were.”
I’m not sure I believe that. “You had to know he had a crush on you.”
She looks me in the eyes. “I didn’t. Liam was always nice and sweet to me, but I never thought it was anything more than Liam being Liam because he was like that with almost everyone.” Her eyes close. “Plus, my feelings for Jace were so intense…he’s all I could see.” She looks down. “He’s all I ever wanted to see.”
My heart hurts for Liam. He never stood a chance.
“Oh.”
“Bianca?”
“Yeah?”
“If I could change everything about that night, I would.” Her eyes fill with tears. “Most nights I lay awake wishing my dad made us move one night earlier because then everything would be different.” She wipes her tears with the back of her hand. “I love Jace, more than anything or anyone…but if I had to give him up so he could still have Liam…I would.” A choked sob escapes her. “I swear to God, I would.”
Now, I’m the one who’s crying.
I’ve had it so wrong for so long.
Liam’s death wasn’t her fault.
It was just a horrible twist of events that ended in a terrible tragedy.
And hearing her profess that she’d