Page 55 of You Belong With Me

In my mind, I storm off down the beach dramatically. But it’s dark, I’m barefoot, and my entire body aches, so my exit isn’t quite as elegant as I hoped it would be. I make my way down thehill, wincing every time my foot finds a stick or rock, which is every three-fucking-seconds.

“Wyn,” he says from behind me. “Wait. We need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I say stiffly, finally making my way down to the soft sand. ThankGod.

He catches up to me quickly, his hand clamping around my arm, pulling me to a stop. I turn to him with a huff, and I wish he could see my face—but it’s too dark. He’d see a scowl.

“What were you told about my arrest?” he asks sternly.

I try to pull my arm out of his grip, but the movement only causes him to squeeze harder. “Does it matter, Lucas? Really?”

“Of course, it matters,” he says, anger creeping into his tone. “Whywouldn’tit matter, Wyn?”

“Because this toxic fucked up thing between us isn’t actually a thing,” I spit out.

He releases my arm. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“This,” I scream, gesturing between us wildly. “You. Me. We’re not a thing, Lucas, so it doesn’t matter why you were arrested. I don’t give a fuck.”

I wish that were actually true, but maybe, one day, with some time and distance, it will be. I just hope he doesn’t pick up on the lie.

I start walking again, a little faster now, and of course, he follows me. But his legs are longer, so he gets ahead of me, turning to face me as he walks backward. “Answer my question, Wyn. What did you hear?”

We’re about twenty feet away from the bonfire now. Not so close that people can hear us, but close enough to be near people, in case Lucas gets murder-y.

I stop, and he stops, too, so now we’re facing each other. His back is to the fire, so his face is cast in shadow, but I canfeelthetension radiating off his body. “It’s not what I heard, Lucas. It’s what I saw.”

The sound of laughter and music drifts on the breeze, but Lucas says nothing.

“What did you see?” he asks, finally, and maybe I’m just imagining it, but it sounds like his voice faltered there for a split second.

I shift on my feet and lower my voice. “I saw you push someone youthoughtwas Gabriel in front of a train…” I swallow. “But what I don’t get iswhy?”

And maybe more importantly,how?How could he bring himself to do something so sadistic?

He doesn’t answer me right away, and I wonder if my initial instincts about him were right all along. Maybe Lucas West really is the devil…

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Lucas

My entire fuckingworld is crumbling right before my eyes.

The bonfire lights up Wyn’s face, shadows playing across her delicate features. She looks at me with those wide green eyes—a mixture of disgust and horror—and that, more than anything, guts me.

“Who showed you that video?” I ask, my voice stiff.

Whoever it is, they’re fucking dead. Only a couple of people should’ve had access. The police. My Lawyer. Who could have shown Wyn?

She shakes her head, and glances down for a second, before looking back up, and into my eyes. “Does it matter who showed it to me, Lucas? I can’t unsee what was on that surveillance footage. I wish I could.”

My heart is pounding so hard, I’m afraid it’ll beat right out of my chest. I shift on my feet and reach out for her, but she flinches. She fuckingflinches.Fucking-A.How did everything get so twisted?

Tilting my head back, I rake my hands over my face, and scream up into the night sky, which is black, like the yawning abyss that is myfuckinglife.

When I look back down at her, she’s staring at me. “I can explain, Wyn.”

Can I, though?

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