Page 188 of Dare To Live

“We were all helping him, we just didn’t know it.”

“Then Zoey and Kellan’s blood are on your hands, too.” Miles’ jaw is tight.

“Like you’re so fucking innocent, Mr. High and Mighty!” Tina stabs a finger toward him. “You took part in the pranks we did on Zoey.”

Shock freezes me in place.

“Is that true?” I demand.

“Didn’t your little puppy tell you?” Maggie’s voice is icy and unfriendly. “He was the one who dumped food coloring on her, just like what happened to you. Miles was as neck deep as we were in the dares. He’s just as much to blame for what happened to Zoey as anyone else here.”

Miles is silent and refuses to meet my eyes.

“Looks like someone’s been keeping secrets.” Linda says.

Maggie waves the end of her cigarette at us. “You’re not looking so good now, are you?”

My jaw clenches, and I grab Miles’ hand. “You can think whatever you like. We don’t need your validation. Come on. We’re not staying to help these bitches.”

Miles doesn’t resist as I march him out of the room.

Chapter 108

Eli

“Have you spoken to your family at all?” I follow Jace into the florist.

He shrugs. “Kind of? My mom sends me birthday and Christmas cards. I don’t hear from my dad, though.”

“But surely they understood you were manipulated by Evan as well?”

“I guess. We never had that good a relationship to begin with. It was probably just a good excuse for him to use. To be honest, it was the best thing to happen to me. I moved away and got out from under his control. While I might not have access to the family money, I’m doing okay for myself.” He nods toward a table where there are vases full of white flowers. “What about those?”

A slither of distrust crawls down my spine. “No.” The flowers he’s looking at are lilies. Zoey’s favorites. The same ones that Ari found in her bedroom and at Zoey’s grave.

“Why not? A lot of corsages have lilies in them.”

“Not Arabella’s.”

“Okay.” He turns in a small circle and blows out a breath. “Do you know what color dress she’s wearing?”

“No. Why?”

“Well, if you don’t want to go with something white, then it’s usual to match the corsage to the dress, or at the very least complement its color.”

“How do you know all this?” I pull out my cell and scroll through until I find Miles’ number.

Jace laughs. “My sister is a couple of years older than me. I remember all the fuss surrounding her prom.”

Me: What color dress is Ari wearing tonight?

I’m pretty confident she will be with Miles, and he will know what she is planning on wearing.

“What about pink roses? Girls always love pink.”

I shake my head. “Pink doesn’t fit with her personality.”

My cell chimes and I tap open the message.

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