Page 77 of Love Me

“Same.”

“Give me your phone number.”

He punches his number into my phone and says, “Wanna do this again?”

“Yes.”

With his rough exterior, he is the poster child of a bad boy. But tonight, for a few hours, he made me forget.

I guess I did the same for him.

No one can empathize better than people with common pain.

I hug him goodbye, go to my car, and then drive back home.

What hurts the most is that I know Abigail and Kaden make perfect sense. A sigh heaves my chest, and I step out of the car. We needed closure. Now we can let each other go.

A message from Hunter pops up on my phone as I enter my childhood home.

Where were you?

Needed some space.

Inside, it’s all dark as I go upstairs. Undressing, I shower, and when I drop on the bed, sleep carries me away.

The next morning, I am the first to arrive at Mia and Hunter’s house.

“Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer, right?”

I kiss Hunter’s cheek, and Mia is at the stove preparing muffins when we enter the kitchen.

A clear telltale sign of her stress.

I turn to Hunter and he shrugs. “Don’t ask.”

“Sit.”

We do just that, and she goes on. “While you, Celine, were being an emotional wreck, and Hunter unfocused—”

We open our mouths, but she points the wooden spoon at us. “I will run the show from now on.”

“But––” I try to refute her accurate statement, but no words form.

“I’m sorry, but things are not what they seem. We have to find a common denominator with them.”

“They’re our enemies,” Hunter snarls.

“Well then, stop making puppy eyes at one of them.”

Mia points at me. “And you stop messing around.”

Hunter and I look at each other, blinking in shock when she adds, “They’re not our enemies. We’ll find out what they know and work together.”

“No,” we say in unison, and she shrugs.

“Not your call. Now smile. We have guests.”

I drive down the cobblestone road connecting the student housing with the campus. It’s like a small town, teeming with students. The whole campus was created in the shape of an eagle. Never forgetting who makes it all possible: the Family.

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