Page 118 of Just a Little White Lie

It gets me a short snicker.

“But I’m not angry, because I know your holiday sucked. I didn’t know about Ronan, and I wish you would have told me. Getting up to dance in front of him took courage, and I know you hate that you screwed up that last part.”

“It just adds fuel to his fire.”

“I get it. But when we come back with a trophy tomorrow, we’re gonna shove it in his face.”

Maverick frowns. “I’m going?”

“You better be. I need ya.”

“But…” His expression bunches with confusion. “I screwed up. I’m not allowed.”

I suck in a shaky breath and hold it for a moment. “Mrs. Kwan doesn’t know you hit me. She doesn’t know you were fighting. I’ve told everyone that I fell and landed funny.”

His lips part in surprise. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I don’t want you missing out. You weren’t being malicious yesterday. You were being thoughtless. You weren’t out to hurt me or Arlo. I don’t want you getting that last strike. We need you on the team… and not just to win. I want you there. I want you to have this chance.”

His face crumples, and he covers his mouth, blinking at me until soft tears start to form in his eyes. They splash onto his knuckles and dribble over his dark skin.

I slip off my chair and kneel beside him, resting my hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t deserve to go,” he whimpers. “I just keep screwing up all the time. I can’t win.”

“You can. And you will. You just have to try and try again.”

“But I don’t deserve it.”

“That’s grace, Mav. That’s the beauty of it. You need people in your life who will always be in your corner no matter what you do. That’s me. And Sully. And all the Misfits. We’re the people who will be there to bail you out no matter how many mistakes you make.”

My heart starts racing as Jack’s words swim through me again.

Luke.

Jack.

They’ve been my people. I haven’t come this far all by myself. And I don’t want to keep letting them down.

What is my lying really achieving?

I’ve become an expert in hole digging, and if I didn’t have Jack and Luke to pull me out, where would I really be right now?

How can I teach these Misfits to be the best versions of themselves when I’m not doing the same thing?

How could I tell Jack that I don’t need him?

More lies. Is that all I’m made of?

My insides wail, while I sniff and end up fighting my own tears.

Honesty hurts, and it’s kind of terrifying.

But don’t I owe it to Maverick? To myself?

“The thing is…” I swallow. “I shouldn’t be lying about it. I’ve, um… gotten into a really bad habit of fudging the truth. It’s just easier sometimes, you know? I’m really embarrassed to admit this, but thanks to my inability to tell the truth, I am in huge amounts of debt, my parents aren’t speaking to me, and my boyfriend is now seriously pissed off.” I slash a tear off my face. “I love him. And I said some things…” I shake my head. “I lied to him. I hurt him. And I don’t want to keep doing that. So maybe we need to figure out a way around this. A way where we can be honest but still get what we need.”

Maverick turns, his expression kind of devastated. “You gonna tell on me?”

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