Page 133 of Possess Me! (I Want You To)

“Are you listening?” I said, watching as his eyes widened in alarm.

“What—” I’d never seen him as freaked out as he looked, when I turned my head toward the collection of people ogling us from the hallway. Chastity, Vanity, Violet, Mom, Paul, Betty, Adam. All smashed together like nosy sardines.

“I lost everything!” I yelled at them. “I lost it all. All my money. Every last cent of it. I’m stupid—naive. I’m an idiotic son-of-a-bitch. Hunter took it. And I’m sorry—I’m so fucking sorry. I’m a horrible son. A horrible brother. I broke all my promises. I lied to you. I avoided the truth. I did anything and everything I could so you would never find out.” Collective gasps erupted, and my gaze caught on Violet’s—because of course it did. As the only person who’d known the full truth, I needed—I needed something. Reassurance, maybe? Yes.

She smiled.

She nodded.

Her strength pushed me forward.

“Prudence isn’t my boyfriend.” I was shaking all over. “We made a deal, and he’s helping me. He’s going to pay for Adam’s college courses.”

“Dude—” Adam’s face was turning green. “I don’t—shit. I never asked you to—”

“I don’t care anymore. I can’t—” Not when it meant Prudence thought I was too soft to help him. I glared Adam down, I glared them all down. “You probably won’t love me anymore—” My mom gasped. “And now that you know, you probably think that I’m this big stupid, fuck-up—none of it matters. I’ll fix it. I’ll fix all of it. Maybe I fucked up—maybe I’m a waste of space—” All words I’d told myself while I’d wallowed, but never voiced aloud.

Prudence made a wounded noise.

“But I made a deal.” I shook his wrists, then turned back to meet his gaze again. “I’m not weak. I’m not a coward. We’re a pack, Pru. Bonnie and Clyde. A package-motherfucking-deal. And I’m going to help you, I don’t fucking care what it takes. I. Don’t. Care. I will throw myself in front of a train before I let you do this on your own.”

I thought he’d fight me.

The aftermath of my confession left a minefield behind me.

I should’ve paid attention to the fury on my family’s faces—because I was sure that’s probably what they were feeling. I should’ve paid attention to the tears. I should’ve done a lot of things that I didn’t do, because my ghost was here. And he was hurting. And he was giving up on me.

“I won’t let you give up on me.”

“That isn’t what this is,” he said softly. It was the softest he’d ever spoken. Reverent. “I was giving you a choice, Luca.” His lips thinned and I released a desperate, brutal sob as I realized what he meant.

I was giving you a choice, like you’ve always given me.

“I don’t want a choice, Prudence.” I dropped my head to lace a kiss against his lips. He didn’t kiss back. He was too tense. “I don’t need one. I already chose you.” I kissed him again, and the stiff line of his mouth relaxed fractionally. “And I’ll keep choosing you, even if you don’t want me to. Even if it hurts. Even if choosing you means losing you.”

Prudence dropped his grip on my cheeks, finally.

His arms wrapped around my waist as I laced tear-flavored kisses along his mouth till he relaxed and met me in the middle. The dominating press of his tongue inside my mouth felt like coming home. I choked back a sob as I clutched the back of his shirt and he kissed me till I forgot all about what I’d just done. The truths I’d brutally discarded.

All I knew, when we pulled apart, our breath mingling, was that I’d made the right choice. The spark in his eyes was back.

“Okay,” he agreed, turning toward the door—which was now apparently…empty. Our audience had left us, the gift of privacy more meaningful now than it had ever been before. Without their eyes I could truly let myself relax, sagging against Prudence, letting him take my weight—and the weight of my confession into his capable, sturdy arms. He could handle it. “But my sisters are coming with.”

“Okay.” I agreed easily, refusing to let him go. Relationships were all about compromise, after all.

My stomach gurgled.

He laughed.

Chastity and Vanity had a staring problem, but other than that they were pretty cool. It was clear they were fascinated by the way Prudence and I squashed together during breakfast. After piling plates high for all three of us, my family had left us alone to get acquainted. I was honestly grateful. I needed a bit more time before I would be ready to confront what I’d admitted in the garage.

I hadn’t seen Violet since my confession. Maybe she’d left?—or maybe, like everyone else, she’d taken mercy on me by giving me the distance I needed. Now though, I regretted being left alone. Without a buffer, Chastity and Vanity had nothing better to do than ogle where I clung to Prudence stubbornly. The staring made my skin crawl. I wanted to call the sisters out for it, but forced myself not to. Instead, I focused on Prudence as he gave the back of my neck a soothing, apologetic squeeze.

“They’re annoying,” he explained quietly. “Ignore them.”

I melted.

This exchange somehow only made the sisters stare at me harder. Like I was a wild unicorn, and they’d never seen anything like me before. It was weird. I didn’t like it.

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