Page 72 of Drown in You

“Yeah, you told me you were going to therapy, but you didn’t tell me why Mike was there. I just assumed it was about his divorce.”

She shrugs. “It was. And his addiction. But it wasn’t my business to tell.”

“So what about all his debts? You don’t think there’s any chance he tried getting in your pants for your money?”

She swats my shoulder. “No son of mine will talk like that. And no, Mike never asked me to help him with his debts. He’s never asked me for a dime—I offered. After we got serious. And he’s already paid me back.”

“Ready to go, dear?” Mike calls, stuffing his wallet in his pocket and holding Ma’s purse out to her.

She smiles up at him before standing and kissing the top of my head. “Have a good night, honey. Don’t wait up.”

Disappointment knots in my chest. The news of Mike’s gambling addiction was supposed to tear them apart. Break them up so I could finally have Sienna the way I want.

Mike doesn’t even love her like I love Sienna. He doesn’t track her every move, doesn’t spend every second she’s in front of him memorizing each inch of her face, doesn’t reach for her every time she’s in front of him because he can’t stand not touching her when she’s near.

And Ma doesn’t look at him the way Sienna looks at me.

Yet they get to be together. They get to have everything I want with Sienna, and we only get to have each other in the shadows.

Chapter 19

Sienna

I can’t sleep. Not when Luke is in a bedroom mere feet away. Not when my door doesn’t have a lock.

I’m filled with the same feeling I had that night when he snuck into my dorm—a restless need for him.

If Luke really is Ten, then he’s right that this thing between us is way more than sex. I’ve fantasized for years about the face beneath the mask, and Luke is even more gorgeous than I could’ve imagined. Ten is the best friend I’ve ever had, the person I trust most in this world, and I’ve always hoped that someday we’d meet and fall in love. I just assumed it was some silly fantasy, not something that could ever really happen.

Even though it’ll take me time to forgive him and he’ll need a great explanation for why he’s been ghosting me, he’s not the only one who’s been keeping secrets. We’re both guilty of that, and I can’t hold that against him without being the biggest hypocrite.

Maybe if I tell him my secret, he’ll tell me his.

Heart in my throat, I yank open my bedroom door and hurry down the hall to his room. I have to do this quickly, now, before I chicken out.

His door is shut when I reach it. I lift my fist to knock and hesitate. If I tell him what happened, I can’t take it back. This could change everything. He’ll know everything about me, and he might reveal the true identity of the man beneath the mask.

Sharing our secrets could bring us closer together. Or tear us apart.

I’m not sure which one I’m more afraid of.

I swallow, heart thumping, and knock. The whole house is silent. Beyond the door, no movement follows. I wait a few beats before knocking again. Still nothing.

I try the knob. He’s snuck into my room before—more than once—and it’s about time I return the favor.

But the knob doesn’t turn. He’s locked it. Locked me out.

The small bubble of hope in my chest deflates. What if Luke is Ten and he shuts me out again? What if I lose them both?

I’m not sure I’ll be able to recover from the loss.

Get a grip. I’m pathetic if I can’t get over an internet friend ghosting me and my stepbrother losing interest in me. I’m just like Mom—searching for a man to fill that hole in my heart.

I turn around and head back to my room.

Under the cloak of darkness, I sprint through the park, passing benches and rows of trees. Parents and children watch me race past, but none of them help me.

None of them stop the men from chasing me.

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