Page 16 of Exposed

“My dad said you didn’t speak at my funeral either. That you said everything you needed to the last time you saw me.”

Now I was the one with tears in my eyes. “Not a chance in hell, Brooklyn. I regretted what I said. And I…” I felt like I was choking on my words. “I read my wedding vows to you at your funeral.”

“Oh, Matt.” She started sobbing now.

I pulled her across the center console and onto my lap. I cradled her face in my hands. “I’d never felt so broken. I still feel broken.”

She nodded. “Me too. I missed you so much. I was so lost. But my father convinced me that everyone was happier without me.”

“Brooklyn that wasn’t…”

“He told me those lies about the ring. About you not speaking at my funeral. And he showed me pictures. Of you with other girls. Of all the Untouchables as friends again. Of Kennedy and Felix laughing. I thought…I thought you all forgot about me.” She was barely getting the words out. “That you were all happier that I was gone. I thought you were glad I was dead.”

I wiped away her tears with my thumbs. “Your death killed me, Brooklyn. It felt like I’d died too. For 16 years, I’ve felt like as much of a ghost as you.”

She shook her head. “Then why didn’t you answer my dad’s texts? I’d convinced him to tell you the truth. I…” her voice trailed off. “I don’t understand.”

I winced.Fuck.Was that really what Mr. Pruitt had been texting me about all these years? “I was furious with your father. I knew you didn’t agree to give him your kidney. I thought he’d murdered you. When you died…it felt like I’d lost everything. You. Our future that we dreamed of. The life I wanted. And I didn’t want anything to do with him. I came here every day to mourn you and I never once saw him. It was like he didn’t care that you died at all.” Which made sense now. Because she wasn’t dead. “And I hated him. I still fucking hate him. He stole you from me…”

She leaned down and kissed me. And it felt like coming home. Her father had kept her locked up. Or she would have come back to me. She’d never forgotten. She’d never stopped loving me.

I buried my fingers in her hair. I had no idea how I’d coped with the pain of losing her. This was the only way I felt better. With her on top of me. It was like she alone could take away my pain.

Chapter 8

Saturday

Brooklyn

Matthew Caldwell still loves me.

He brought flowers to my grave all the time.

He regretted his last words to me.

He didn’t ask for the engagement ring back.

He spoke at my funeral.

He always wanted me to come home. And that’s what it felt like when I kissed him. Like coming home.

We were both haunted by ghosts. But it was so much easier to breathe when his hands were on me. His lips were salty from my tears. But he still tasted like cinnamon. He still tasted like my Matt. He was still mine.

I pulled back. That wasn’t true. I hadn’t told him everything yet. “That wasn’t the end of my story,” I said. “I…”

“I want to hear all of it,” Matt said. “But for so long it felt like I wasn’t living. And I can finally breathe again.” He kissed me again. “You came back to me. You came back. That’s all that matters. Really, Brooklyn. All that matters is you’re here with me now.”

Miller had said almost the exact same thing to me when I arrived at the lake house. That I came back to him. I knew Matt didn’t want to break the spell. But that was all it was. Because he only knew half of the truth. Yes, I was devastated when I thought he’d moved on. But I’d moved on too. And he needed to know the truth.

It seemed like Matt thought I’d only just escaped from my dad’s prison. But that wasn’t it at all. I’d been crying so much over the past few weeks though. And Matt took away that pain. It was selfish, but I kissed him back. I let him make my heart feel better for just a few more moments.

I remembered when just staring at him in the halls of Empire High made it easier to breathe after my mom had died. And he’d held me while I cried when my uncle passed away. Matt had pieced me back together before. He could do it again. If I let him. If he wanted to after he heard the whole truth.

I stopped kissing him, but I didn’t pull away. I rested my forehead against his. “That fall. And winter. And spring. And summer. Despite what my dad told me. Despite the pictures. I was loyal to you, Matt.”

He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“And I prayed that you’d find me. That somehow, you’d show up and rescue me.”

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