Page 78 of Such A Bad Girl

He pulled me close, holding me tightly against his chest. I clung to him, our chests heaving together from the long trek through the thick pines.

“Listen, nobody saw us, okay?” He finally said, his words muffled by my hair. “Maybe we just don’t say anything? Like, to anyone? Ever?”

I nodded, hot tears falling down my face now. Shock settled into my bones and my body started shivering. Theo took off his coat and threw it over my shoulders, then wrapped his scarf around my neck, pulling me to him again.

“It’s going to be okay, Ev, I promise. I’ve got you,” he whispered, stroking my hair. He held me for a long time there under the warm amber glow of the streetlights, long enough for me to stop shaking, long enough for me to decide to trust him.

“We’re in this together,” he assured me. “Don’t tell a soul. And I won’t either.”

“We stick together,” I murmured. “Okay, I promise.”

“I promise, too.”

He pulled me back again, peering deeply into my eyes.

He nodded once, then planted a kiss on my lips like a vow, firmly but gently, his lips warm and soft against mine, stealing my breath away.

When he pulled away, my eyes blinked open, the world spinning around us. I nodded slowly, knowing our entire lives had changed that night.

Nothing would ever be the same again.

Not me. Not Theo. Certainly not Avett…

But I had no idea how deeply our futures would be affected, not at that moment.

The firefly lit up again, landing on my cheek this time.

Theo looked down at me and smiled, before gently pushing it away.

“We’re going to be okay, Ev.”

I trusted him then. I had no choice.

I’d kept that scarf of his all this time, a reminder of our promise to each other that night. A reminder of everything we’d gone through. I hadn’t thought of it for years, but now I walked to my bedroom and pulled out a long-forgotten box from the back.

Opening it, I was bombarded by the sights and smells of the past that quickly washed over me. Memories flashed over me from high school as I pulled out glitter covered party invitations and old ticket stubs and photographs from high school. I’d kept everything, plagued by a constant sense of nostalgia for a long time after I left Texas.

I’d look at them those first few years when I felt lonely, trying to remember the good times, but after a while those memories faded as I built my life here, and I didn’t need the comfort of them anymore.

The scarf was folded in a small box, the one thing that wasn’t thrown into the box haphazardly. It had always been special to me. I took it out now, inhaling the familiar scent of the soft black cashmere. Of course, Theo would have the best quality scarf around, even back then, probably a gift from his mother. He’d worn it all the time back then, donning it as soon as the nights started to turn colder even a little.

After that night, he’d never asked for it back. I’d never offered.

I put it around me now, a poor substitute for his arms.

With a heavy sigh, I started putting everything back in the box, leaving the scarf draped around my neck.

When I spotted my old yearbook covered in old newspaper clippings, I almost shouted in glee.

“I thought I lost this!” I cried out in the empty room. Carrying it to my bed, I snuggled under the covers and pulled the scarf tighter around my neck before cracking the spine and diving into the past.

Chapter Fifty-Three

THEO

Iset out around half past eleven, determined to handle this by myself once and for all. This asshole obviously only wanted money. As soon as Ev told me it was a woman, I knew I could handle this on my own.

West would see what I was made of. He’d see I was serious about Everleigh.

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