Page 37 of Naughty & Nice

“There’s nothing going on with us,” she says firmly.

“Something has happened though, hasn’t it? That out there,” I say, throwing my arm out in the general direction of the kitchen, “wasn’t the first time he’s been that close to you.”

Her eyes hold mine for a few seconds, and I hate what I can see in them.

Fear.

Pure. Unfiltered. Fear.

I know because I feel it too. Right down to my fucking toes.

Ripping her eyes from mine, she stares up at the ceiling for a beat before wrapping her arms around herself as if they’ll help keep her together before she turns around.

“I went out on the night of Nick’s anniversary,” she starts, her voice weak.

Nick was her brother. He was the most incredible kid. Sweet, funny, smart. A lot like Wilder in many ways. He was destined to break hearts and do incredible things. Or at least, he was until he got sick.

Watching him suffer, and in turn, watching Noelle fight to stay strong for him was the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced.

Their parents couldn’t cope. Hell, they’d checked out long before he was ill. But it got worse once he was diagnosed with Leukemia.

Noelle became his parent even more than she already was. But she couldn’t give him what he really needed.

Sure, he had all the love and support he could ever want, but as far as medical attention went…

Not being able to get him the treatment he required is something that’s going to haunt her for the rest of her life. She was only a child herself; it wasn’t her responsibility, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel the weight of it in the way her parents should.

“Noelle,” I breathe, taking a step closer, although coming nowhere close to touching her.

“I know,” she confesses. “I know.”

I’d told her I wasn’t going to go out that night. I’d told her that I’d stay with her, do whatever she wanted to do, be whatever she needed me to be, just like the other years I’ve supported her through the worst day of her life.

But she persuaded me to go.

I had an assignment due and I needed all the support I could get. I didn’t want to go, but she convinced me.

She fucking convinced me, and I wasn’t there when she needed me.

Wilder was.

Fuck. Pain lashes at my chest knowing that I had a part in whatever is going to happen next.

“There was a frat Halloween party I saw posted online about an hour after you left.I don’t even know why I thought it would be a good idea. Hell, I knew it would be a really bad idea. But once it took hold of me, I was powerless to stop it.

“I pulled together a questionable costume and left the house without second-guessing my decision.The party was in full flow when I got there, and I slipped in unnoticed.

“One drink led to a few more. I was dragged out onto the dancefloor by someone in a werewolf costume, and I let go.

“For a while, it was great, and I started to wonder why I hadn’t done it before.

“My dance partners came and went, but I didn’t really notice. Not until one guy grabbed my hips.

“Admittedly, I was pretty drunk by this point, but it was different.”

My stomach knots, knowing exactly who it was, and terrified of what happened next.

“We danced. It was…” She trails off, clearly uneasy about confessing how it really felt. “It was everything I didn’t know I needed.

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