Page 47 of Where the Darkness Goes

I blink. “Explain.”

He shakes his head, looking around, and now it feels like we’re in a covert conversation. “This is all so weird, Tessa. I have no idea what we’re doing.”

At least he finally said it so I know I’m not alone in this anymore. But even as I agree, it stings to hear him call this that word. ‘Weird’ isn’t exactly a compliment. I start to leave, to tell him we should just forget it, but he takes my hand, stopping me before I can stand.

“But I do know I…I want to find out.” He twists each of my fingers in between his slowly, almost caressing me.

Itdoesfeel weird, I can admit—if only to myself—but it also feels weirdly right.

“What do you want to find out?” I ask slowly, pacing myself because I’m almost afraid of the answer.

He huffs out a breath. “Everything.” His hand moves to scratch the back of his neck like he does when he’s nervous. “Turns out, I’m, uh, pretty obsessed with you.”

My eyes widen. I didn’t expect him to be so blunt. It’s not like him. “You are?”

Behind him, the sky is getting dark, and the light from the fire reflects on his face as he studies me. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip before pushing up from the ground. “Will you walk with me?”

He holds out his hand, waiting.

It takes a few seconds for me to process the request and a few more seconds to agree to it. I slip my hand into his and let him pull me up.

He nudges his head toward the right side of the building, where we took lessons earlier today. Now that it’s getting dark, the area is deserted.

“You’ve never just been Will’s little sister to me, you know?”

He’s still holding my hand. His fingers are laced with mine, and I have no idea what to do about it. This all feels like a dream.

“I mean, obviously you were that.Arethat. But you were—are—also my friend. And, for a long time, that’s the only way I saw you. You were this friend who was always around, and when something good would happen—or something bad, I guess—you and Will were the first people I wanted to tell. As much as we annoy each other, you are someone important to me, and I never want to lose that.”

We’re walking slower now as we round the building and near the fence that blocks off the training area.

“I don’t want to either,” I tell him. The seriousness of the conversation is uncomfortable when I’m so used to joking with him. At the same time, I very much want to see where this is heading.

“And then I started to…to see you differently.”

“You mean I got hot.”

At that, he snorts. “Yes, Tessa. You got hot. But you also got…interesting in a way I wasn’t expecting.”

I cock my head to the side. “Whereas before I was boring?”

“Before, you were justyou.And suddenly, you were different. Er, I was different. I don’t know. I started to think about you, you know? Really, really think about you. Not just when we were together, but…” He looks away. “All the time, I guess.”

“You thought about me, how? Like you really wanted me to kick your butt at Smash Bros? Or more like you really hoped I would stop leaving books in the hallway for you and Will to trip over when you sneak back home at night?”

His eyes go dark while he studies me, the thought so clear on the end of his tongue I can practically read it. “Like Ireally wanted you.”

His words wash over me as if each one is a finger tracing along my collarbone.

“Oh.” I puff out a breath, shocked by his fearless honesty. This is such a different conversation than I’m used to with him. Such a different version of him.

He looks away. “And you were still Will’s little sister.”

“Right. Doesn’t change.” I try to laugh, but it falls flat. There’s nothing funny about the way he’s looking at me.

“Right. And no matter how badly I…”

“Wanted me,” I remind him, though this time there’s nothing teasing in my words. I want to remind myself it’s real.

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