Page 14 of Midnight Lessons

I step closer, refusing to back down. “Maybe it isn’t, but I’m making it mine. You don’t have to deal with this alone, Low.”

She shakes her head. “Why do you even care? You left Midnight Falls, leftme, without a backward glance. You’ve been back all of five minutes, and you want to play knight in shining armor?”

“You’re right. I left. I screwed up everything with you, and not a day goes by when I don’t regret it. God, you don’t know how much—” I grind to a halt, raking my hand through my hair.

Willow’s eyes flicker before the sadness in them deepens. “You think you can come back and say you regret it, and all will be forgiven?” she demands, her wary expression morphing into something harder. “I told you I loved you, O, and you almost destroyed me.”

Hearing her call me O nearly breaks my damn heart. She’s the only one who ever called me that. We always laughed aboutit. Low and O. We fit together like day and night, the sun and the moon—different but perfectly intertwined.

Guilt hits me like a punch to the gut as I recall that day back in high school when my friends teased me for hanging out with her. How I said things I didn’t mean—things that cut her to the bone, all because I was too much of a coward to admit how I felt.

I’ve always loved Willow. I loved her when she was eight and wore her hair in pigtails, when she was twelve and suddenly grew breasts I couldn’t keep my eyes off, and when she was nineteen and I broke her heart with my careless words.

The late afternoon sun casts a warm glow on her face, highlighting the freckles across her nose and the stubborn set of her jaw. She looks vulnerable, like a deer caught in the headlights, and I hate that it’s because of me.

“Low, I was a dick,” I say, my voice thick with regret. “I let the guys get to me. I didn’t know you’d overheard me until later. And then you ghosted me. Wouldn’t talk to me. Wouldn’t look at me. It was like I didn’t exist. And when you starteddating Matthew, I thought I’d lost you forever, that you were better off without me.” I pause, pinning her with my gaze. “If I could take back what I said that day, I would. Every damn despicable word.”

Chapter 5

Willow

I let out a bitter laugh. “You don’t get it, Owen. I heard everything that day outside the changing rooms when I came to congratulate you after the game. You said those things, and they’ve stayed with me. I tried so hard to move on, but your words... they cut deep. You said I was holding you back. That I’d never amount to anything. That no one would ever want someone like me. Someone plain and boring. The nerdy girl who wasn’t worth the time of day. You told your friends I wasn’t anything special, that I wasn’t... I wasn’t someone you’d ever see a future with.” Her voice cracks, and she takes a shaky breath before continuing. “And now you think you can show up and protect mefrom this bullshit like none of that ever happened?”

Owen closes his eyes, his expression tortured. “God, I remember it all. Every terrible, vicious thing I spewed about you, all because I was afraid of getting too close, afraid that leaving for college would tear us apart, anyway.” He shakes his head in self-disgust. “Worst damn mistake of my life. I didn’t mean a single word, Low. I swear. It was selfish and cruel, and I’ve hated myself for it every day since. A year ago, I lost my parents, and I miss them every day. And six years ago, I lost my heart. I lostyou. I’m sorry, Low. So fucking sorry.”

Tears prick my eyes at the anguish in his gaze, in every line of his body. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose both parents in one horrendous moment. Devastating doesn’t cover it.

“I miss them too,” I whisper. “But you don’t get to swoop in and play the hero now, Owen. You don’t get to suddenly decide you care about me again.”

“There’s nothing sudden about it, Low,” he says softly. “I know I’ve got a long way to go to earn your forgiveness, but I want to help. I want toprotect you from this ridiculous online bet. Let me help you.”

I stare at him for a long moment, still reeling from the bombshell that someone has set up a betting pool on my virginity. Why the hell would anyone do that? It’s beyond disgusting.

“I’ll win your trust again, Low,” Owen continues, closing the gap between us. “I’m not leaving this time. I’m staying, and I’m going to fight for you. For us.”

His eyes meet mine, and something shifts between us, something I’ve been running from for too long.

I’d hate for you to throw away a second chance at happiness because of something that happened when you were both kids.

My dad’s words come back to me from last night. Can I do this? Give Owen a second chance?

“Let me help, Low,” he murmurs again, taking another step closer. “Please.”

I search his eyes, looking for the lie, the catch. But what I see makes my heart pound. Regret. Sorrow.And something else, something deep and enduring that I don’t want to name right now.

A second passes, then two.

My shoulders slump as weariness creeps into my posture. “You want to help? Fine. Don’t treat me like I need saving.”

“Deal. But if anyone comes near you because of this bet, they’ll have to go through me.”

My mouth twitches. “You always were stubborn.”

“Only when it comes to the people who matter.” He holds my gaze as if to convey how much I matter to him.

Maybe this is a start, a small crack in the wall I’ve built between us—a wall I built because of him. I want to trust him again so I can tear the damned thing down because, God, I’ve missed him. So much.

A flicker of hope stirs in my chest. But I’m still cautious, still unsure. It’s going to take time to rebuild what Owen broke. Am I willing to let him try?

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