Page 101 of Drown in You

“The offer to kill him is still on the table.” On her bed in our dorm, Juliet sharpens her pocket knife with a literal sharpening kit. Like a serial killer.

“No murder necessary,” I remind her. “Where the hell did you get a knife sharpening kit, and more importantly, why?”

She rolls her eyes. “Knives get dull, Sienna.”

In the three days since I last saw him, a literal ache has grown in my chest, but I won’t let my broken heart send me back into Luke Valentine’s arms. I’ve never gone through a breakup before. This is simply what breaking up with somebody feels like. Wallowing over how much you still want to be with them, even when you know you’re not right for each other.

Juliet’s blade scrapes along the sharpener. “If you’re not going to kill him, then you should forgive him.”

“What?” The word practically leaves my mouth in a screech. Juliet is the last person I’d ever expect to tell me to forgive Luke. “He lied to me for years. He literally fucked me while leading me to believe we didn’t already know each other. When he knew our parents were already married. Then he ghosted me, even though he knew how much that would hurt me.”

Juliet shrugs. “If you can forgive your dad for abandoning you, you can forgive Luke. After you make him grovel, of course.”

I shake my head. “No, you were right before. I’m a people-pleaser. I forgive too easily. That’s what got me into this whole mess.”

I’m done playing nice girl. Done being the people-pleaser. Where the hell has that gotten me? Broken-hearted with the sex tape of me and my stepbrother broadcasted online for anyone to see. Whispered and gossiped about on campus, the lingering gazes and snickers following me everywhere I go.

I should’ve pressed charges after Marcus and his cronies attacked me. If the police hadn’t been willing to listen to me or take me seriously, I could’ve gone over their heads. I could’ve reported the assault to another law enforcement agency or gotten an attorney. I could’ve fought back.

But I didn’t. I didn’t want to make things worse for anybody else, even if that meant making things worse for me. I was willing to accept every shitty hand the world dealt me.

If I’d fought back, I wouldn’t have ended up here. Luke never would’ve ghosted me, and I wouldn’t have lost my friend or my dignity.

I need to be more like Juliet. I need a tougher shell. I need to stop forgiving people who hurt me.

Juliet slips her sharpened knife into her pocket. “Again, killing him is still on the table. So where are you staying for the summer now that his mom is divorcing your dad?”

“I don’t know, actually.”

Marcus is still free, but Deb said they should be able to make an arrest soon now that we have a case against him. He could be locked up awaiting trial by the time my finals are over. I could go home.

A knock at the door makes my heart leap into my throat.

Since I broke things off, Luke has been sending texts and voice messages asking to talk. Now I’m the one ghosting him.

I’m honestly shocked he hasn’t broken my door down to get to me again. But that must be him now.

I’m not ready to face him. Maybe I never will be. But I won’t let him know that. With a long, deep breath, I open the door.

“Hey, kiddo.” Dad smiles at me, hand-in-hand with Mom.

My parents are holding hands. What kind of parallel universe have I teleported to in the past few days?

“Can we talk to you?” Mom asks.

Juliet hops down from her bed and slips on her boots. “Sounds like awkward family shit. I’m out.”

When the door swings shut behind her, my parents hover in the middle of the room while I sit cross-legged on my bed. “What’s up?”

They exchange a smile before turning back to me. It’s like they didn’t spend any time apart, let alone ten years.

“We’re going to try to make our relationship work again.” The grin crinkling Mom’s eyes is the most genuine I’ve seen on her face in a long time. “We were thinking you could move back home with us after your finals. Unless you want to continue attending Diamond.”

A tornado spins in my head. Not only are my parents back together, they’re already planning to live together. And they want me to go home with them. “You want me to transfer again?”

“It’s fine if you want to finish out your degree here. But now that we have a case against Marcus, you can move back home. You’ll be safe. We can be a family again.”

“New and improved.” Dad’s eyes are lit up behind his glasses.

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