Page 85 of Don't Let Me Go (Don't Let Me 2)

“Just because you’re lying to yourself by saying you’re only friends with Theo doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to make him drool over you for the night,” Mia returns without bothering to look at me. She slides the hangers in my closet from left to right as she checks out what she’s working with. Clearly disappointed with her options, she says, “Ash, go see what you can find in our closets. All this girl owns are hoodies and workout clothes.” As Ash scurries off, Mia turns back to my closet and continues rifling through everything. “Besides, Blake. You like him. I know you like him. Ash and Kate know you like him. And even if you didn’t––which we’ve already concluded you do––there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be appreciated from afar.”

“Especially with this hair,” Kate admits, scrunching my messy curls in her hand. I’d left it down, letting it hang around my shoulders while refusing to acknowledge it’s because I know how much Theo likes it this way.

“Do you have any idea how jealous I am of this?” she adds, playing with my messy strands.

“Says the girl with this gorgeous dark hair.” I pick at the luscious locks flowing down her back like a damn waterfall to prove my point. “It’s so thick and shiny it practically glows.”

“It’s also as straight as a board,” she finishes. “It doesn’t even hold curls when it’s caked in gel and hair spray.”

“Still beautiful, though. I bet Wes likes it,” I tease.

Her shoulders deflate as Ash returns to my bedroom with some clothes in her arms. She stops short, sensing the change in Kate. “Oh, no. What’d I miss?”

“Blake brought up Wes, and Kate got quiet,” Mia explains. The girl’s more blunt than a Clint Eastwood cigar. She walks to Ash and filters through the clothing options, lifting a shimmery black top and a pair of low-rise jeans into the air. Satisfied, Mia hands them to me and turns her attention on Kate like she’s Mia’s next order of business. Poor girl.

“So, my dear Kate,” she says. “What’s up with you and Wes? And why haven’t we heard about any of it before now?”

Tucking a few strands of dark hair behind her ear, Kate mutters, “Nothing’s going on with us.”

“Baloney. You’ve been out past 10:30 pm two times this week, and for you, that’s saying something, my friend.”

Kate rolls her eyes. “Okay. I like him. I don’t know if he’s the one or anything, but yes. I like him.”

“And it’s a problem because…?” I ask as I slip off Colt’s oversized hoodie.

“Because of my…condition,” she mutters, picking at a tiny piece of lint on her jeans like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

“What about it?” I prod.

“I haven’t told him yet.”

“Kate,” Mia and Ash say in unison.

“I know, okay?” She flicks the lint onto the carpet. “I know I need to tell him.”

“We’ve been over this,” Mia scolds. “It isn’t fair to keep him in the dark.”

“Yeah, but it isn’t fair to have my nose rubbed in the fact that as soon as he sees me as someone broken, he’ll break it off, and I’ll be all alone again.”

Well, damn.

When she puts it that way…

Mia’s attention shifts to Ash as I finish getting dressed, then sit back down on the bed and throw my arm around Kate’s shoulders. I hate how insecure she feels about her epilepsy. I hate how it makes her feel different. Unwanted. Like she’s a burden when she’s the opposite. She’s an asset, and anyone would be lucky to claim her. To have her in their corner. I know I am. But I haven’t walked in her shoes. I haven’t experienced the things she’s experienced. And if she’s too freaked out to tell him, she probably has a good reason. But it doesn’t mean she should keep sticking her head in the sand. It can’t be healthy for anyone, let alone Kate and Wes. It’s a mess.

Squeezing her knee, I announce, “I have an idea. Let’s mark our calendars for the night after you tell him. It can be tomorrow. It can be a week from now. It can be whenever you’re ready. But you’re going to tell him, and then you’re going to come home, and you’re going to tell us how it went. We’ll be ready to congratulate you or mourn with you depending on how the night goes. Regardless, you won’t be alone.”

Ash plops down on Kate’s opposite side. “Yeah. I’ll make Colt buy some Ben & Jerry’s.”

“And I’ll invest in a dozen eggs in case we need to throw them at Wes’s house,” Mia finishes.

I laugh and squeeze Kate’s knee again. “See? It’ll be perfect.”

“Yeah.” She sighs, looking less than convinced as she gnaws on her bottom lip. “Perfect.”

“Now, time for your makeup,” Mia announces. She grabs my hand and drags me toward the bathroom, the other girls trailing behind. “Let’s see how Theo likes smokey eyes.”

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