Page 101 of Dare To Live

I stare down at my cell.

They’re coming over?

My brain is trying to process everything, but it’s sluggish and thoughts are hard to hold onto.

I should do something. Anything.

I look around the kitchen.

I’ll make coffee. It’ll distract me until they get here.

By the time Miles and Ivan arrive, I’m a little calmer. I usher them into my living room and let them take the couch while I curl up in one of the armchairs. Ivan bends to retrieve the letter from the floor, and places it on the coffee table.

Miles glances at it, and his eyes widen. “Is that the crest for Churchill Bradley Academy?”

I nod. “They want us to come back.”

He laughs. “It’s a joke, right?”

“A sick one, if it is.”

“It’s real.” Ivan takes a seat beside his fiancé on the couch. “The senior year has been invited back for one week. You get to have the prom you missed. Catch up with classmates.”

“Why would we want to go back?”

“To face your past,” he tells me softly.

“Ivan?” Miles shifts on the cushions to face his partner. “How do you know about this? Why don’t I have a letter?”

“You do. I was waiting for the right time to give it to you.”

“You kept it from me?”

Ivan’s gaze softens. “I wanted to make sure you could handle it first.”

“Well, thank you for warning me, I just had a fucking panic attack.” My voice is bitter.

“I’m sorry, Arabella.” He turns his attention back to me. “It was not my intention to trigger you.”

I huddle deeper in my hoodie. “Well, I am not going.”

“I think you should.”

Miles gapes at him. “What? Ivan, are you crazy?”

The older man shrugs. “After learning what happened to you both, I think this is something you need to do.”

“You didn’t live through what we did. It left scars on both of us.”

“No, you’re right, I did not. But I know from experience the damage that can be caused by not facing your past. You’ve both been living with your trauma for far too long. You must face your demons. You need to go back. To face those monsters that hide in the dark so you can heal.”

Chapter 56

Eli

Back at the cabin, my days return to their usual routine of coffee for breakfast, a run through the forest, working on paintings in my studio, coffee for lunch, then any maintenance that needs doing in the afternoon.

It takes a couple of days, but by the end of the third, I’ve worn myself out to the point that I’m ready to sleep.

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