Page 90 of Liam

“Pretty sure you were theonlybell pepper costume in the entire world.”

He twists, turning to face me. “You know what we should do?”

“What?”

“We should go away for a few days. Go to Mia’s farm. Or wherever you want. Just… unplug. Reset. Whatever.”

My eyebrows rise. “No filming?”

“Fuck filming.”

33

Liam

Four days away with Lincoln is exactly what I needed. Four days without a phone? Even better.

We didnothingwhile we were gone. Didn’t talk about work. Didn’t talk about girls. Didn’t talk about the reality that awaited us when we got back home.

It was perfect.

Almosttooperfect.

And as soon as we got in the car to drive back, I could tell Lincoln was bursting to talk about all of it. He had the decency to wait until we were almost home to ask, “Remember that day at the diner—with Addie and Jules?”

I glance over at him, then turn my eyes back to the road. “Yeah…”

“Afterward, Julie mentioned she was surprised that you and Addie were hanging out…”

My lips tug down at the corners. “Why would she be surprised?”

“That’s what I said.” He shifts in his seat, his tone careful. “Apparently, Addie and Helmet were the ones to start the whole Twincest thing. At least, that’s how she remembers it.” A beat passes, and I focus on the dotted lines of the road slipping by. “I kind of assumed as much, based on how Helmet treated you,” Lincoln continues, “but I wasn’t sure which came first, so…”

“So… what?”

“So, is it true?”

Suddenly, the calm of the past four days vanishes, and the storm of reality is biting at my heels.

“If I’d known for sure,” Lincoln adds, “I wouldn’t have been so nice to her when?—”

“No.” I cut him off. “She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Then you’ve got to help me out here, man, because I don’t know what’s going on.”

I figured this was coming, and I’ve been contemplating how much to reveal. Or where to even start. From the beginning, probably. My shoulders rise with my sharp inhale, slow exhale. “Remember when we were younger, and I’d take off some nights? Ride away on my bike.”

“Yeah, I hated it.”

“What?Why?”

“Because it always felt like you needed a break fromme.”

I eye him sideways.

“I’m needy, okay? Kill me. Go on.”

Shaking my head, I tell him, “One night, when I was ten, I went for a ride and I found Addie hiding out near Fillmore.”

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