Page 58 of Bitter Truths

I’ve spent the majority of my life pulling myself from the depths, whether it was from grief, rage, or pain. But sitting here now, staring at the girl who wants me while I pine after another, I see I’m screwed.

“Take it off,” I say, rubbing my hand over my face.

“What? This?” she asks, picking up the hem with a wicked grin. Her pale legs peek through by design, no doubt, and I drop my gaze down at them absently.

But, I don’t fucking see Miranda before me, and she must sense my disconnection because she says quietly, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. You should go.”

“Griff! You’ve been acting weird for weeks. And then . . . Halsey. Is it her or me?”

Stalking to the bathroom, I say quietly, “You know the deal.”

“Yeah, I thought I did. But you’re not here with me. Shit. We haven’t fucked since last year.”

With a grimace, I step out of my clothes. Her eyes flow over me greedily, but I don’t feel so much as a twitch. I’m fucking limp as a noodle with a half-naked chick standing before me.

I guess Halsey finally got what she wanted. Ha!

“Miranda . . .”

“No, it’s fine. I get it. You need time. Just know I’m here. I’ll be here.”

With a slow nod, I shut the door in her face and lean against the wood. I’m clinging to what could have been, and for whatever reason, Miranda is too.

I don’t have all the answers, but I know in my gut, if I want to survive the hole eating at my stomach, I have to move forward. There’s just one last fucking thing I need to do.

It’s time for those fuckers to go down. I can feel the darkness pulling me under, and finally, I let loose a sigh and embrace it.

It’s who I am, and I’m done fucking hiding. You mess with mine, you mess with me.

Grabbing my phone off the counter, I tap out a text and smile.

It’s time.

Chapter Sixteen

Maybe it’s a mistake, but I’d rather learn the hard way.

HALSEY

My weekly call with the family goes as expected, which means a lot of awkward silence that my parents fill in with false cheer. Luckily, Max doesn’t mention the video.

Unfortunately, he shows up at my house not long after with a grave expression, and I grudgingly let him in. Aaron still doesn’t know exactly what happened, and even though I’m going to have to tell him eventually, I don’t have time now.

Instead, I pull Max into my room despite my misgivings and ignore Aaron’s questioning stare.

“Hals, what the fuck are you going to do?” he says the second we’re alone.

“Max, what are you doing here?”

I’m grateful he sent me the video, sort of, but we’re not fucking friends, and I’m still wary about being alone with him.

His face drops before he raises his eyes to mine, the normally crystal blue hue filled with darkness. “Halsey, you expect me to just ignore the fucking video? What’s going on?”

“Griff is calling his lawyer,” I say, sitting down on the bed with a sigh.

It’s nice Max is showing concern, but I’m not sure I’m in the headspace for it, not with everything else crowding my brain, but since he’s here, I might as well take advantage of his knowledge.

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