Page 60 of Sealed in Ink

Slowly, the door opens. Brad’s features are tight. There are bags under his eyes, as though the stress has instantly made them appear. His cheeks look hollow and miserable.

“Rust, old buddy, fancy seeing you here.” He turns and walks into his hotel suite without a backward glance.

He has a living room area in this one, too. He sits on an armchair and folds one leg over the other, drumming his fingers against the arm. He looks ready to spring to his feet any second.

“How?” he snaps before Rust and I even sit down. “How did it happen? Explain.”

“It was my fault,” Rust says. “A few months before that trip, Mary seemed different to me. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I was a virgin before that.”

“No,” Brad replies. “You didn’t. Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. I know you had your chances, Mr. Big Man Celebrity, but you wouldn’t stoop that low.” Brad’s tone gets vindictive. “Would you, Rust?”

“That’s fair,” Rust says.

“So you seduced her?”

“No, it wasn’t like that?—”

Brad cuts me off with a quick look. “Sorry, sis, I’m asking my good ol’ buddy, my best friend. Please let us talk.”

I bite down, the pregnancy hormones sending a rage through me that tries to make me respond and say something, but I don’t deserve that.

“I made the first move,” Rust says. “I said I’d teach her some Jiujitsu, but I knew how I felt. I knew where I hoped it’d lead.”

“But I wanted it, too,” I say stubbornly. “It wasn’t one-sided. We made the choice together.”

“Two betrayals for the price of one,” Brad says darkly. “I don’t even know how I’m supposed to process this. Rust, she’s eighteen.”

“Nineteen,” I correct.

Brad waves a hand. “Okay, nineteen.”

“I know.” Rust runs his hand through his black-silver hair. “I didn’t plan on it, Brad. I was shocked, too. I was never attracted to anyone. I thought I was just busted when it came to that stuff. I didn’t care, but then I saw her, and if she’d been a wrinkled old prune, I would’ve fallen in love with her wrinkles. It’s not her age. It’s her.”

Brad looks at Rust, his stern expression almost draining away momentarily. He can feel the sincere emotion in Rust’s words, but then he sighs. “Still… after all we’ve been through, after everything. It’sMary, Rust. Mary. Remember when we met? At the lake?”

“Of course, I remember,” Rust says passionately.

“The lake?” I ask.

Brad looks off into the distance as if seeing it in his mind’s eye. Despite everything, I can see the corner of his mouthtryingto twitch. “You wouldn’t stop crying. Mom had gotten it into her head that it was because some burglars stole some old Cross we had since I could remember. So we went on an adventure and got it back. You were just a baby, Mary.”

“I know,” Rust says with a dark sigh. “From the outside, it looks bad. I know, man, but I don’t give a shit whatpeoplethink. I only care about the truth: Mary was invisible to me, and then suddenly, she waseverythingto me.”

I let out a gasp, then bite down. I need to control myself, be careful with the love noises, the sounds of release and hope, daring to dream this could ever work out okay.

“You’ve never even had a boyfriend, Mary,” Brad says, “and now you’re pregnant.”

“I don’t care,” I reply. “Rust has never had a girlfriend, either. We’re going on this adventuretogether. It’s like when you were kids chasing that Cross. We’re chasing the future—a family. I’m ready for it. I didn’t plan it, but I am. I know I am. I know I can be a good mom.”

I sit up, determination jolting through me.

“I don’t doubtthat,” Brad says.

“Okay, and what about Rust? Do you think he’ll be a gooddad?”

Brad looks at his old friend, his eyes narrowed, like he’s deeply thinking about it, assessing every interaction they’ve ever had.“Apart from this, Rust has been the most loyal person I’ve ever known. He’s honest. He does the right thing. He says he doesn’t care, but he does, deep down, under all that toughness. I know you’ll be a good dad, Rust, but that doesn’t mean you’re a good friend.”

“I know,” Rust says miserably.

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