Page 174 of Dare To Live

“Are you fucking insane? What if he’d had a gun? He could have fucking killed you.”

“But he didn’t.”

“But he could have!” I roar the words, startling myself … and the birds in the trees around us, who all launch into the sky. I drop the flowers to the ground, and grab Arabella by the tops of her arms, shaking her. “What the fuck were you thinking? Have you learned nothing from all the shit Evan put us through? He wouldn’t think twice about fucking killing you, Ari. And then what? I’m supposed to fucking bury you too?” My voice breaks, and I release her, spinning away. “Fuck’s sake.” I mutter, raking a hand through my hair.

“Eli—” Her hand lands on my arm.

I shake her off. “No.” I stalk off across the cemetery, back to where I’ve parked my car.

By the time I reach it, my heart rate has reduced, and the anger has subsided. I lean against the side of the car and wait for Arabella to catch up to me. When she does, she stops a couple of feet away and looks at me.

We stare at each other. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but all I can think about is how it felt losing Zoey and then Kellan. The pain of that loss would be nothing compared with something happening to her. But I don’t say a word, don’t admit to that, because she’s made it clear more than once that once this week is over, she’s going back to L.A. and expects me to return to my life, either in the Hamptons or back in my cabin.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice is soft.

“Just leave it alone. We should head back. I want to take a shower and change before we meet Miles and the others.”

“What about your clothes for the prom?”

“I’ll pick them up tomorrow.” I unlock the car and open the passenger door. “Get in.”

I slam the door after she’s climbed in and stride around to the driver’s side. The drive back to Churchill Bradley is made in silence. When I pull into the spot beside Kellan’s car, she twists on her seat to look at me.

“Are you angry with me?”

“No. I just …” I keep my gaze focused forward. “I can’t bury someone else, Ari.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I saw him and … I was just so angry.”

“I know.” I unclip my seatbelt and throw open the door. “We have a few hours to waste until we need to go back into town. I’m going to organize a courier to pick up my sculpture and arrange someone to come and get Kellan’s car.”

“Where are you going to send it?”

“Back home. He loved that car. I’ll restore it. It shouldn’t be left here to rot.” I climb out. “I’ll walk you back to our room.”

I walk around to her side of the car and open the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to pack my sculpture.” I hold out a hand and help her out. “Can I ask you not to wander around alone? If you don’t want to stay in our room, call Miles. Please?”

She looks like she wants to argue, but nods. “Okay … I can do that.”

***

Mr. McIntyre, my old art teacher, is in the art studio when I walk in. He greets me with a smile.

“I was hoping to see you before you left. Is it true that you’re Sin?”

My mind immediately goes to Arabella and the things we did in the dark, before realizing he’s talking about the art displays I have under the name.

“Yeah. I didn’t want to draw attention to who I was.”

“I’ve been to a few of your displays. I always knew you’d go far.”

“Thank you. You had a lot to do with me taking that step and showcasing my work.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m confident you would have been successful without my input.” He pats my shoulder.

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