Page 61 of Knot That Difficult

Connor rounds the corner next, his face etched with concern. “We acted like assholes,” he says. “Devyn, I’m sorry for our behavior. You don’t deserve that.”

He extends his hand, and I see that he has handed me a new glass of my favorite lemonade.

“Thank you,” I murmur. “But I’m just warning you now. I cry a lot, and easily. So, if this is something you don’t want?—”

“We want it,” Ace interrupts. “We wantyou, babe.”

Ben quirks his lip. “I told you, you’re likable, Dev. Anyone would be lucky to date you.”

It seems a little awkward to be standing with all three of them after everything that happened, but their scents swirl around me in a soothing aroma.

“I’ve learned that making you cry is something I never want to experience again,” Connor states. “I don’t ever want to be the source of your tears.”

“So, what,” I sniffle, “you just miraculously decided you would all be best friends now?”

Ace shrugs. “We have a…truce. We all care about you; we all want what’s best for you.”

I narrow my eyes at Ben. “I want you to get along with Ace.”

Ben quirks his lip. “For you, I’ll try.”

Ace sighs. “For fuck’s sake, man. It was more than five years?—”

“You know, I’ve committed burglary too,” I interrupt.

All three of them look at me in shock.

“Dev?” Ben asks.

I shrug. “I mean, I never thought of it that way, but that’s exactly what it was. I would sneak into houses in the rich areas, because a lot of times they kept their doors unlocked. I would take random stuff and sell it at swap meets on the weekends.”

Ben’s eyes grow wide while Connor and Ace gape at me.

“I mean, that’s burglary, right?” I look at Ace. “Breaking in somewhere and stealing?”

He nods slowly. “It is.”

I look back to Ben. “But I was nice about it! And I didn’t leave a mess or anything. I only did it until I was like, thirteen. And less than ten times altogether.”

There’s a long moment of silence as the three of them stare at me.

“Oh,” Connor finally says.

Yeah, technically, I was a burglar.

And?

“So, if you judge Ace, you have to judge me too,” I tell Ben, who looks like he wants to argue with me.

Ben would never judge me for anything, though, so I know I have him there.

“Is she always this interesting?” Ace asks, amused.

“She drops random information about her life sometimes that I don’t know what to do with,” Ben admits. “So, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one she leaves flabbergasted.”

I smile at him, and he wipes away the remaining tear on my cheek. “There’s no crying in arcades,” he tells me gently. “Unless it’s because you’re losing.”

“Then I should be sobbing on the floor,” Connor says.

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