Page 100 of Ripple Effect

“What do you mean?”

He lets out a long breath. “There are things about my life that we haven’t talked about yet. Things I haven’t told you. And it’s not because I’m hiding them or because I’m too ashamed, but it’s just heavy stuff. Stuff I’d rather not think about.”

“Are you . . . ready to talk about it now?”

He pauses, and I wait with bated breath. “Yeah, I think so. Can you come over?”

“I’ll be there in fifteen.”

The drive to Elio’s apartment feels both agonizingly long and far too short. I pull up outside and take a moment, steeling myself for whatever he’s about to share.

Once I’m out of the car, I climb the stairs two at a time, knocking softly on his door. It swings open almost immediately, revealing Elio in the dim light, his face a canvas of raw emotions.

“Hey,” he murmurs, stepping aside to let me in.

I enter the cozy apartment, and as per usual, Bentley rushes over, his tail wagging in delight. He circles my legs, nuzzling my hand for a quick scratch before retreating to his spot on the couch.

Elio closes the door behind us, the latch clicking into place with an air of finality. We stand in silence for a beat, neither of us quite sure how to begin. Eventually, he motions for me to sit down, taking his spot beside me.

Bentley curls up next to us, his soft whines and gentle nudges begging for attention.

Wordlessly, Elio brushes a stray strand of hair behind my ear. My skin tingles at his touch. Despite the knot of anxiety in my stomach, I lean into it, letting the warmth of his fingers soothe me.

He notices the tension in my posture, his face scrunching up in a pained expression. “I shouldn’t have ghosted you like that,” he admits, his voice raspy. “It was a fucked-up thing to do.”

“Yeah,” I whisper, gaze dropping to my hands. “It was. And I’m not too happy with you about it.”

He swallows hard. “It’s a bad habit,” he confesses. “I used to do it all the time to Kaia when things got heavy. It pissed her off, and rightfully so. But I can’t be like that with you . . . I won’t allow myself to.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yeah, I’ll do better, baby.”

I let out a sigh, some of the tension releasing from my shoulders. “Okay, then I’ll let it slide just this once.”

He offers me a small, thankful smile. “Thanks for coming over, even though I’ve been acting like a piece of shit.”

“I’m here for you,” I say simply, placing a gentle hand on his cheek.

He leans into my touch, his eyes closing momentarily. “I know.”

“You gonna tell me what’s going on now?” I prod gently. “These secrets from your past that you’ve been keeping?”

“It’s . . . complicated, but I feel like you should know,” he says, taking a shuddering breath. “When I was younger, I was involved with a group of people who . . . who weren’t exactly upstanding citizens.

“We did some things that weren’t legal, and I don’t just mean smoking some pot here and there. It was a wild time, and eventually, things escalated too far. I was caught up in the middle of it all, and I didn’t know how to get out.”

My stomach drops, and I pull his hand into my lap. “What are you saying? You didn’t—”

“I didn’t hurt anyone, if that’s what you’re asking,” he says quickly, his grip tightening. “But things got bad. Kaia and I grew apart, and I clung to this one guy, Jackson. He was... a little more than a friend, at least on my end.

“He and his older brother introduced me to coke, and I was hooked almost immediately. Turns out he was just using me to skim money off my parents, off my siblings, to feed our little habit.”

“Wow, that’s awful,” I say, my hand still tightly clutching his. “And a lot for a teenager to handle on his own.”

“I know,” he says, hanging his head. “I’m far from perfect, and I’ve made countless mistakes in my life. There were times when I thought I was invincible, but I realized eventually that I was just a kid who was in over his head.”

“And somehow, you found your way through?”

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