Page 108 of Forever Yours

“We both go to CU.”

Caught off guard, Brad turned his confusion toward Mom. “I thought you said he went to Stanford.”

Her hand fluttered at her throat. Her smile inched up timorously. “Well, yes, but—”

I cut back to Justin, needing him to know that I knew exactly who he was. “Marshall says hi… and so does Fallon.”

His complexion drained of all color.

“Oh, you know Marshall as well,” Brad said just as April breezed down the stairs and grabbed my hand, abruptly pulling me away from everyone.

“I want to show Elijah my senior art project.”

“The food is already on the table,” her father stated.

“Start without us then.”

She didn’t stop when Brad called after her.

April barreled me up the stairs and shoved me into a room with walls painted the color of robin egg blue. It was hideous.

Plopping down on the springy mattress covered with what looked like a white antique quilt, she bounced a few times before settling and had to readjust her glasses.

“Okay. Spill. I was majorly eavesdropping from the stairs, and you looked like you were about to rip Justin’s dick off and hand-feed it to him.”

“That’s overly dramatic.” But kind of true.

“He’s a pompous jackass, so you can say whatever awful thing you want about him. It won’t leave this room. Besides, nothing you say will be worse than what I’ve called him… to his face.” Her grin spoke of the truth to that statement.

I was learning that April may appear sweet and timid, but she had a mean streak and a fierce attitude to go with it.

I walked over to where she had put my suitcase and set it at the foot of the bed. The pull of the zipper slid easily, and I took out the clothes bag that contained Julien’s suit and hooked the hanger over the top of the closet door.

What I should be doing was walking out the door and getting an Uber to take my ass back to the airport. So why wasn’t I?

I took out my phone, about to text Fallon, but something stopped me.

Dammit.

I was tired of always feeling weak. Tired of everyone else fixing my problems. Tired of never standing up for myself. But mostly, I was tired of the fear.

Walking over to the window, I pulled the blue curtains—also hideous—and gazed out into the darkness and the lights that lit up the houses nearby.

I wished I could’ve seen more of the historic town. Rainbow Row. Foley Beach and the lighthouse. Fort Sumter. Taken a walking ghost tour through the city. Visited Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. There was so much history to Charleston. Maybe one day I would come back with Julien.

“A little over a month ago, I was attacked in the restroom of a restaurant. It was bad. Put me in the hospital. Concussion. Busted face. I looked like a walking Rorschach for a while.”

April’s eyes widened in horror. She was smart enough not to need me to connect the dots for her.

“Marshall,” she said in a whisper. “Holy shit, Elijah! It was Justin, wasn’t it?”

I looked over my shoulder and nodded.

“I met Marshall once when he came on a beach trip with us a couple of years ago. He’s Justin’s third cousin or something from his mother’s side. Guy gave me the creeps. Kept staring at my boobs.” Her hand raised to cover her mouth. “Oh my god. Elijah, I’m so sorry. Thatasshole,” she seethed and bounded off the bed in a flurry of red hair.

Yep, the universe absolutely hated me. My stepbrother-to-be was related to the guy who tormented me almost every day since middle school. Fantastic.

There was a light knock at the door right before it opened, and Mom stepped inside.

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