Page 194 of Zero Chance

When her mom blanched, refusing to confess, Waverly glanced at me with arched eyebrows.

I lifted my hands, pleading the fifth and refusing to get in the middle of this ceasefire because she fuckingneededa ceasefire with her mother.

“I’m already over it,” I promised.Because tears, man; her mom’s sobbing—plus the whole heart-felt apology—had gotten me to weaken and not hate her as much as I had five minutes earlier.“Hell, if it’s what prompted this peace talk between you two, I’m actually glad she did what she did.”

Waverly frowned.“So she did something againstyou?”

Making a face, I waffled my hand.“I mean, notagainstme per se.”

Realizing she wasn’t going to get me to confess a damn thing, she spun back to her mom.“What did you do?”

This time, her mom managed to open her mouth, but she looked too guilty and ashamed for actual words to come.Waverly glanced toward Damien inquisitively.

Like a tomb, he lifted his hands the same way I had and shook his head as if he knew nothing.

She turned her attention to Younger next, and his eyes flared with panic.He started to reverse back into his room and disappear.

But Waverly growled, “Alec?”in a threatening tone, and the idiot folded like a cheap table.

“She’s the one who told Dugger.”Dropping his gaze from her face, he flushed and cleared his throat.“About…you.At campus this morning.”

Waverly’s lips parted, and her gaze snapped to me.I stared back steadily, hoping she didn’t get pissed at me for letting Alec find out about her past too.But all she murmured was, “The video.”Her brow furrowed as her thoughts raced while she pieced it all together.“Mom went to Haverick today, guest speaking to classes about mental health.”Eyes lifting to me, she realized, “She spoke toyourclass?”

I nodded mutely, hoping this didn’t start another war.

“But I didn’t think you took any classes that?—”

“I don’t,” I whispered.

Her lips parted.“So…” Turning to her mother, she said, “You broke your work protocol and risked getting fired to intentionally go after Keene in the hopes of scaring him away from me for good?”

Ms.B wiped more tears off her cheeks.“I’m so sorry.”

Waverly shook her head slowly but only needed a few moments to think it over before she drew in a long, bolstering breath and straightened.“That wasn’t how I would’ve liked for him to find out, but I was going to tell him anyway.And his learning has only made us closer.It didn’t scare him off at all like you thought it would.Which means, I won our deal.So my last condition for you to earn my forgiveness over the way you’ve behaved lately is that you have to accept the fact that Keene and I are together now and make an honest attempt to like him.”

“Whoa,” I said softly, lifting my hands to intervene.“I think you two have already made enough progress for one night.We don’t need to push anything else that’ll cause her to renege on all that ground you’ve gained.”

Waverly cast me a scowl that reminded me of all those early days of getting to know her at the library when I’d irritate the hell out of her.“I don’t like the idea of her hating you,” she bit out.

“Well, I have a plan for that,” I argued.“You see, I’m gonna play the long game: show her how much I care about you and how dedicated I am to you and that I would do anything to keep from hurting you.She’s going to see how much I love you, and she’ll basically beforcedto admit we completely belong together.Trust me.”I shot her a wink.“This’ll work.”

Waverly rolled her eyes.“Except you are far and away from perfect.”

“Wow,” I deadpanned, blinking at her while Damien and Alec snickered from their respective eavesdropping spots.

Until Waverly added, “Which is what I love most about you.”

And… I melted.Heart in my eyes, I went to her and took her hand.She smiled back lovingly, and I probably would’ve kissed her then and there, but her mother cleared her throat, breaking it up.

When we turned to her, it was me she was watching.But surprisingly, there was no hatred in her gaze.

“I waited all day to receive a call from the school administration and lose my job.But it never came.”Questions filled her eyes, but I didn’t answer them.So she said, “I’ve never known Parker Ohrleynotto make good on a threat.He acts swiftly and without mercy.And when nothing happened, I…” Her eyes softened as she watched me.“Did you ask him and Thane not to turn me in?”

I hesitated in answering long enough that Damien finally said, “Yes, he did.”

“He said hurting you would hurt Waverly,” Alec added.

I glanced at my two friends, irritated by their interruption, but Ms.B only reached out a hand toward me.“Thank you,” she said.“I can see now that you’re not the same boy you were in high school.”

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