Page 4 of Smudged Lines (Tattooed Hearts Duet 2)

How is Noah? Any funny anecdotes to share? I sometimes wish I had a younger sibling. I think it would be fun.

Do you ever worry that no matter how hard you try that it will never be enough? Some things come so easy to me, but then I worry I’ll never be good at anything else. Even when I do my best, I still feel like it’s not enough. I feel guilty in a way for having things easier. Like I shouldn’t be this lucky, I don’t know if that makes any sense.

I think I like to test the margin of things I can get away with, to see what it would take to make people leave me. It’s easy to know when you’re good and perfect, but what about when I’m no longer that person, what if I was more of a black sheep? Would people still like me, or am I only useful for the things I give them?

Or, you know, that’s what I wonder if my brother thinks. Being a twin is interesting. We used to be closer, but over the years, things changed and I feel like I lost him.

Did you hear the newest Mirrored Hearts single? If not, go and listen to it now! If yes, what did you think? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sing, Sing, Noxy girl,

Smoldering Blaze

“What the fuck?”I shouted, the f-word rolling off my tongue with ease at the magnitude of the situation unfolding in front of me. Clenching my jaw, I seared him with my own look. “Explain everything.Now.”

For once, I was the one making demands, tacking on thatnow. Something shifted in his demeanor, my years of studying the man the only reason I'd noticed. But he’d softened, just a smidge.

“Are you notNox, pen pal toBlaze?”

Swallowing as the memories surged forward, I nodded, never taking my eyes from his. “I was… until Blaze broke my heart.”

“Brokeyourheart?” He scoffed, some of his hardness returning. “That's where you got it wrong,Peach. You broke mine first.”

Shaking my head quickly, I started to hyperventilate, the memories of that night rushing forward. “No! You said…” but I couldn't get the words out. Everything connected to that night brought Duncan to the forefront, a pain so deep I'd buried it in order to survive. Thankfully, Simon stepped in since Slade nor I appeared to be budging from our stances.

“This is the problem. We're missing pieces of the story. I think we need to all share what happened that day, as hard as it might be, Lenn.”

Simon walked over and cautiously sat next to me on the couch. My feet had dropped to the floor, my arms braced on my knees as I hunched inward, trying to breathe. It hurt seeing them together; it hurt seeing Simon functioning at all. That sounded horrible in my head, but the past few months had barely felt manageable most days, and he looked unaffected. I wanted to see him suffer. Maybe then I'd know what we had was real.

And yet, my body craved the comfort of the best friend who knew me better than anyone, who’d been there with me through everything. It made me feelweak, but I wanted his hug. So when he scooted closer, our legs touching, he carefully placed his arm around me. I allowed myself to lean into him for a second, stealing his strength. Before it got too comfortable and I decided to toss the slight modicum of dignity I'd gained, I pulled away, returning back to staring at the floor.

“Maybe I should start?” Simon offered.

I nodded, not able to look at Simon or Slade. I feared seeing his glee at my weakness or his smugness at taking Simon from me. It wasn't something I wanted to face, not strong enough yet to deal with what I’d lost being paraded around in front of me.

“I remember Lenn getting a message saying Blaze was in Nashville and wanted to meet. She told me and invited me along. She, uh, didn't know I'd continued writing to you, though.” Simon shifted next to me on the couch. His leg still touched mine, and I could feel his nervous movements. I wondered if he was looking at Slade, but I kept my face to the floor, not wanting the answer. After a pause, he continued.

“I was nervous the whole drive, wondering how I would get myself out of this pickle. But when we got to the Tavern, I pretended to have set up a date, not wanting to be the third wheel and told you to meet him first. But really, I'd chickened out.”

This caused me to look up at him, the information new to me. “Where did you go?”

“I just walked around the strip after dropping you off. Popped into a place to get food and had finally talked myself into facing you both. When I returned to the restaurant, I found you running out of it. You were crying, and upset with me. I tried to chase you down, but you're wiley when you want to be,” he said, chuckling. “You managed to evade me and it wasn’t until I begged your father that I found you. I tried to explain, and bought you a drink, but you took off again, and yeah… I didn't find you until,” he stopped, gulping. “Until I got the… call.”

That was one way to put it.

Quiet fell around us in the room, me lost in my thoughts as I tried to align Simon’s memories with my own. When Slade piped in, I jolted. “Wait, did you say the Tavern? That wasn't where we met.”

My head popped up at his accusation, and I caught his eyes for the first time since I discovered he was Blaze. My brain couldn't reconcile the boy from our letters, and the man I'd worked with for three years as one and the same.

“Yeah, it was. You texted me right as we left my house. You said it was too busy, so to meet there instead.”

“That's right,” Simon affirmed, turning to look at me. “We'd just gotten into the car when you got it. I thought it was strange but figured you hadn’t gotten a reservation or something.”

“No, that's not right.” Slade shook his head, denial on his face. “I never texted that. I waited at Layla’s like we'd planned. That's where your catfish approached me.”

Screwing up my face, I looked at Slade like he'd officially lost it. “Catfish? What are you talking about? And you so did change the place! I remember it distinctly.”

Slade began to protest, his hands clenching on the chair as his anger rose. “I'm not stupid—”

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