Page 146 of Brambles and Bellflowers
Because I could see why.
“Wow.” Miles leaned back, moving away from my hand. “It reallyislike old times.”
“What is?” I sighed even though I already suspected the answer.
“I only bring it up because it’s relevant,” he said, the humor fading from his expression. “There’s something you need to know, especially if you keep hanging around the school for some reason.”
Why did that sound like an accusation? I had things to do at the school!
“I have a reason…” I narrowed my eyes on him. He’d made me sound like a total loser. Even so,howwas his past sex life relevant? “What is it?”
“So… There’s this witch on campus, and she and I used to…” He glanced away. “Well, we had sex a few times, fine? Stuff happened, and now I have a restraining order against her.”
My thoughts went numb, and I raised my brow. “A… restraining order?”
He nodded. “Yeah,” he said, unmoved, as if this was normal. “I really shouldn’t have slept with her—we try not to mix that sort of relationship with those that fall under our archetype—but we were in some clubs together and got to know each other. I’m not one to sleep with a new woman every week. That’s more Damen’s thing. I need toknowa person before I can gothatfar.”
My eyebrow twitched, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“But sometimes I wonder if Damen was right. Or Julian. Whenever he’d get angry, which was always, he’d go to his specialty clubs and pick up strangers,” Miles continued pensively, placing a finger on his cheek.
My displeasure deepened. What clubs? And if he was always angry… Did that mean he was more promiscuous than Damen?
“The others tried to warn me it was a bad idea to get involved, but I didn’t listen,” Miles said. “Eventually, Heather started thinking that we were a thing—”
“Heather?” I cut in. We had a name! Now we were getting somewhere.
“She still stalks me sometimes,” he continued, his shoulders tensing. His humor had fled, and he looked at me like a rabbit about to flee.
“Are you afraid of her?” I asked.
“No!” His voice squeaked, and he eyed me warily. “I’m just a nice person. I mean, I did sleep with her. I might have led her on a bit.”
He was totally afraid of her.
“How often does she bother you?” I asked. “Doesn’t she respect the restraining order?”
“Not always…” His voice trailed off. “Now listen, you can’t murder her. That’s not why I’m telling you this. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea if you see her hanging around.”
I scoffed and brushed a leaf from my shoulder. How presumptuous. “I’m not going to murder anyone,” I told him. “But you don’t need to worry about her anymore.” His biggest mistake was thinking she’d be anywhere near him in the future. There would be no ‘hanging around.’
I’d keep her away, but there was no need to resort to murder.
“What does she look like?” I asked.
“Why?” His voice shook, and he stepped back. “What are you going to do? You just said you wouldn’t kill her.”
“I’m not going to kill her.”
Killing wasn’t my style. Instead, I would do the same thing I’d done to all of Finn’s admirers: gently encourage them to divert their attention elsewhere.
No one threatened anything of mine.
“You didn’t answer my question.” Miles frowned at me.
I raised my eyebrow. “You didn’t answer mine either.”
He sighed, shoulders slumping as defeat radiated in the air. “She looks like…” His words trailed off, contemplation and confusion growing in his expression. “Actually, I don’t know. It’s all kind of based on her opinion.”
