Page 57 of Carved in Ice (Made of Steel 3)

“You’re not as good as me.”

Arrogant prick. “And you two aren’t friends. You hate each other.”

“That’s not true. I respect Eli. That’s what our friendship is built on.”

“Well it’s certainly not mutual respect for boundaries with his girlfriend.”

V ignored me and pulled something out of his pocket. He placed my Sagitta pendant down on the counter. “You told me this meant everything to you. You said it made you feel like you weren’t alone. That it reminded you of your parents, your grandparents, and what it was like to be happy.”

I stared down at the necklace. I was surprised he remembered that. It seemed like ages ago that I cared about that pendant. I had been so obsessed when I had lost it. When in truth it was a worthless trinket. V had been right the whole time.

“But that was a lie, right?” he asked.

I shook my head and looked back up at him. “No.” It wasn’t a lie. I ju

st felt more content now carrying around a gun than some stupid necklace from a boy that had cast me aside. I hated that necklace and I hated what it stood for. My past needed to stay in the past. A constant reminder wasn’t helping me.

“You lied to me then and you’re lying to me now. It reminds you of Miles.”

Hearing his name made me want to cry. I wasn’t even sure why I still had such a strong reaction to him. I should have felt nothing. I wanted to feel nothing. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Why else would you have stopped wearing it? It meant everything to you, remember? Your words, not mine. If it means everything then why was it stuck in a drawer in your desk instead of hanging from your fucking neck?”

I stared at him. Why was he so worked up about this? “Despite what you might think, it felt like a link to my past. And I’m done with my past.”

“If you had seriously moved on from your past, then you wouldn’t still be hell-bent on killing Don.”

“I’m allowed to want justice for what he took from me without wanting to hold on to a stupid trinket from my past.” I could feel my heart rate accelerating. It was like he was purposely trying to push my buttons. What was his problem?

“Just admit that you don’t want to wear it anymore because Miles has moved on with his life and doesn’t want you back anymore.”

“He stopped wanting me back when he stopped writing to me!” I took a deep breath. I knew that Miles never stopped writing, but it still felt like he had. V was making the memories swirl to the surface. This conversation was suffocating me. I wanted to leave it in the past. I needed to leave it in the past. “It has nothing to do with him.”

“He’s the one that gave it to you.”

“When I thought he loved me!” I wasn’t sure why I was yelling. And I wasn’t sure why there were tears forming in my eyes.

“Just admit that I never had a chance. And neither did Eli.”

“Yes, okay? It reminded me of Miles. But I’m over him. That was so long ago. I was just a stupid kid.”

He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. “Don’t pretend for a second that what you just said is true. And stop lying to me and saying that you love Eli. Because you don’t. You’re still in love with your childhood sweetheart. And the saddest part is that you don’t even know if he’s the same person anymore. You know nothing about him besides for the fact that you used to like him. It’s pathetic.” He placed the envelope down on the counter next to the pendant. His hand was on top of it so that I couldn’t see who it was addressed to. “Yet, your heart beats for one person and one person only. Miles Young.”

This again? “You know what? We’ve already had this conversation. I’m not going to rehash this with you right now.”

“All I’m saying is that it’s not me. And it’s certainly not Eli.” He lifted his hand off the envelope.

Miles’ name was scrawled across the front of the envelope. In my handwriting. And it was opened. I grabbed the envelope and pulled out the letter I had written Miles when I thought I was going to die. The one I had slipped under his door and told him to read. How did V have this? Unless…I looked up at V. Miles?

It was like he could sense my question. “I followed you that night. I got the letter back before Miles ever saw it. You had just confessed to loving me and Eli and I knew you were about to do something idiotic. Which you did.”

I swallowed hard. “Miles never saw it?”

V shook his head.

For months I'd thought he knew and didn’t care. “You’re saying that he doesn’t know that I’m Summer?”

V shrugged.

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