Page 57 of All Our Secrets

The sound of tires spinning on gravel knocked me out of my reverie. I smiled.Peyton’s home.It wasn’t until I peered out the window that I frowned. Why was King here again?

Chapter Twenty-Five:

that’s good

Silas

The spare key on Peyton’s porch was easy to find. I glanced toward Gerald’s house quickly, thankful they were gone, before I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The alarm blared. I’d forgotten about the security system.

“Fuck!”

I walked over and stared at the keypad. What was the passcode to shut it off?

“What are you doing here?” Theodore appeared out of nowhere.

“Do you know the code?” I asked.

“Why would I tell you?” He crossed his arms.

My anger latched on to me. “If you weren’t dead, I’d beat the shit out of you.”

“What’s your problem?” he asked.

Ignoring him, I tried to guess the code. T.J.’s birthday, maybe? I keyed in the numbers, and the alarm stopped beeping.Lucky guess.

I exhaled before glaring at my best friend. “You’ve always known, haven’t you?”

Theodore’s mouth dropped slightly, then his arms fell loosely at his sides. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the bull. You knew Peyton wasmyPeyton. The one I gamed with and told you about for years.”

His eyes narrowed. “She’s not your Peyton, King. She’s my wife. But yes, I knew you two gamed together.”

Fury clawed up my throat. “How could you never once bring it up? God, you knew how much I loved her.”

“You can’t love someone you’ve never met.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up. I adored her. You know that more than anyone because I always,alwaystalked about her.”

Fucking hell. How had it never clicked?

“I met her first.”

I stepped closer, almost nose to nose with him. “I loved her first. Knewher first.”

“If you loved her, then why didn’t you speak up? You left her ignorant about who you are. You even denied that you were him to Peyton while never saying a word to me either. What does that make you?”

My gut twisted as my skin burned. I gestured toward the mangled side of my face. “You’ve never been afraid of rejection, have you, Theo? Never been afraid of losing something so precious. That fear… It makes you stupid.”

“What the fuck? You never let your burn scars stop you from getting what you wanted.”

“Not when it came to Peyton.” I grew lightheaded, I was so irritated. “It took years to build up the nerve to ask her to meet me in person. The day I ask her, she shows up with you, and I was fucking terrified. Terrified that she saw this ugly beast of a man and figured out who I was.”

“She did think you were her gaming pal, but you convinced her otherwise. Why would I step in when you were so adamant about hiding your identity?”

“I didn’t just love her, Theo. The sun and moon might as well rise and set on her in my eyes.”

“You’re talking about my wife,” Theodore warned, veins jumping in his translucent neck.

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