Page 97 of The Sound Of Us

I end the call with my mother and send Axel a text. Can we see each other tonight?

I’ll find a way to convince him to leave as early as tonight, if possible.

Maybe Axel’s nightmare will end tonight. I’ll take him home and he’ll never have to worry about Frank ever again.

Chapter 53

Axel

I’m going to leave Frank. I don’t have the courage to stay with him while the divorce is in progress. He might really shoot me. So, I’m going to run away with Eli.

But no matter how much I force myself to focus on being with Eli, that awful fear just won’t let up. I walk around, tapping my chest because the constant tightness there also won’t ease up.

Ben is already at the bookstore when I arrive because the door is unlocked. I make my way to the back to look for him, grabbing a new stock sheet from the counter on my way.

I push open the door and call out Ben’s name as I enter. Ben is standing near the filing cabinet and—

Oh God.

Waves of heat pulse at the bottom of my spine, moving upward and gathering fear at a phenomenal speed.

“It wouldn’t stop beeping, so I went searching for the sound,” Ben says.

He holds up the iPhone. “The drawer was locked, but I only needed to tug it a few times before it opened.”

And when I still say nothing, he offers a further explanation. “This cabinet is old. The lock must have been loose, you know? Loose enough to open with a few tugs, yeah?”

“Ben…” My voice is only an octave more than a whisper. Is that relief skating down my spine? This is my best friend. I should have told him everything right from the beginning.

“I mean, it has an iPhone message tone. I wouldn’t have even noticed, probably, if it was one of our regular android ringtones, you know?”

“Ben… I should have told you—”

He rushes over to me and flings his arms around my neck. I hug him back. I should have told him.

“Eli Saxon?” he says with a massive smile when he pulls away.

I chew on my lip while his grin nearly cracks his face.

He drops to the floor, pulling me down with him. “Ax dude, do you know how long I’ve prayed for you to be happy?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I say hoarsely.

He hands the phone over to me. “When I picked it up, a text was coming in. I saw the last one only.”

I open the texts. The last one says I love you.

I bite my smile back and Ben shoves my knee.

“I’m so happy for you, Ax. But please. Tell me how this happened,” he says.

“I really should have told you. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you should be. I’d have held that torch for you like a fuckin’ pro. Now tell me how this happened?”

“You know the lake near Mrs. Johnson’s house, right?”

“Yeah, the one Frank sends you to so he won’t get mad at you when his friends try to sexually harass you.”

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