Page 53 of Darling Venom
Something passed between us. Acceptance of sorts.
I forgave him for being a douchebag, and he forgave me for things he was not even aware of. Horrible things.
For not giving him the comfort when I could.
For hiding the whole truth from him.
For feeding him the lies I’d gotten so good at telling myself.
“He never told you he wanted to do this, right?” Tate didn’t ask.
He pled.
He wanted to believe this had come out of left field. That none of us could have known. That he hadn’t ignored the glaring billboard signs.
My conscience told me one more blow to his shattered soul wasn’t going to make a difference, but the cowardly truth was, I didn’t want him to hate me. He was the only thing Kellan had left behind, and I couldn’t stand the idea of him going back to despising me.
I shook my head, but I didn’t utter the word no aloud.
Lie number one.
“I guess he wouldn’t.” Tate rubbed his jaw. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“I guess.”
“Were you friends or something more?”
“Just friends.”
Lie number two.
This one I counted as half a lie. The only thing we’d done was kiss, but I’d rather Tate not know that.
Adolescent love is the greatest pain of all. It teaches you the power other people have to destroy you. I didn’t want Tate to look at me and see another person who’d put a hammer to Kellan’s heart.
Still, the words felt ashen in my mouth.
I was not a liar.
You are now.
“Thanks for your time.” He slapped his knee. “It’s appreciated.”
Maybe it was because Tate had apologized, or maybe I just didn’t want to go back home and meet Leah’s face, marred with scars I’d put there in a moment of recklessness… But suddenly, spending a few more hours with this man was all I wanted.
Just until I made sure he was okay.
“How about we go to the bar down the block?” I suggested, my face growing impossibly hot.
“How about I call you a cab?” he retorted, flashing that rare Marchetti smile that turned women inside-out. “I think it’s past your bedtime.”
Jerk.
“I’m twenty-two.”
Well. Barely.
“Still at least six years too young for me to be seen publicly with you.”
