Page 117 of Dare To Fall

I swallow hard. “I was going to tell you.”

“When? Before or after you left the school.”

“Eli—”

He shakes his head when I try to touch him. “I need to finish packing.”

“I’m sorry!” I call.

He stops in the doorway and turns, jaw tight. “You should have told me.”

I don’t try and stop him from leaving this time. Maybe he’s right, and I should have shown them the diary, but he’d been making my life hell. Zoey’s words had been one thing that had kept me going in my darkest moments.

I haul the suitcase off the bed, and grab my coat, then take everything with me into the main room. I leave everything by the couch and do one last check on the kitchen to make sure everything has been cleaned and put away. Walking back into the main room, I chew my lip and glance toward the hallway.

Maybe I should talk to Eli. Apologize again. I don’t want him to be angry with me. Not when I’m being sent back into hell.

“Hey, Bella. I’m glad to see you didn’t kill Eli and bury his body in the woods. We let ourselves in.”

I spin at the sound of Kellan’s voice and find him standing right behind me.

“It came close to that a few times.” My attention shifts to the boy beside him. “What are you doing here?”

Miles huffs dramatically. “No ‘how are you? Thank you for coming to my rescue.’”

Smiling, I give them both a quick hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“Kellan thought it would be a good idea if I drove you back to the school. So no one sees you all arriving at the same time.”

Kellan waves his hand. “It’s just a precaution.”

A wave of unease flows over me. “I guess that makes sense.”

His attention shifts to the doorway behind me. “So, did you two lovebirds fuck and make up?”

“Did you find Zoey’s diary in Arabella’s bag?” Eli crosses the room, eyes on Kellan.

“I did,” Kellan confirms. “You don’t look happy about it.”

“I only found out about it a few minutes ago.” His words are clipped.

Miles’ gaze bounces between the two of us. “Let’s get your suitcases in the trunk of my car.”

I’m torn between wanting to talk to Eli and needing to run and hide from his temper. I’ve seen what happens when he loses control. Although the rational part of my brain is telling me he won’t hurt me, the echoes of the attack from before linger in my mind.

Miles grabs the hand of one suitcase, while I take the other.

“Are you okay?” he asks when we’re outside.

“Yeah.” My smile is weak.

“You look pale.”

“Eli didn’t know I had Zoey’s diary. He’s angry at me for not telling him sooner.”

We round his car, and he pops the trunk. He lifts the suitcases and slots them in next to his own.

“I got snacks for the five-hour journey back.” He locks the trunk and smiles at me.

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