Page 226 of P.S. I'm Still Yours

They’d ambush me when I’d leave to go to class and be waiting outside my door when I came home. It got so bad that Maggie had to move in with her boyfriend until the dust settled.

Although, not before I sat her down and apologized for keeping her out of the loop for so long.

It would’ve been easy to blame my silence on the NDA Kane made me sign, but I felt she deserved to know the truth.

I didn’t tell her about us because I was scared to admit that I was in love with Kane.

That I am in love with Kane.

She was mad at first, but once I told her the whole story—from us growing up together, to Kane leaving out of the blue, to us living in the same house for an entire summer—she understood and was gracious enough to forgive me.

But you know who wasn’t so understanding?

Kane…

He’s been blowing up my phone since I vanished from his life, begging me to talk to him.

Doesn’t matter how many of his numbers I block. He just keeps on getting new ones.

I know that I caught him off guard, but I refuse to put myself through this again. If I text him back, he’s going to want to see me in person. And if I see him in person… well…

We all know what happened last time.

Bottom line is, we’re doomed.

I understand why he did what he did, but I’m never going to be okay with him protecting my brother’s murderer—even if he had good reasons to do so.

We can’t be together.

Not when Brody Richards is walking free and enjoying his life.

All I know is, I will get justice for Gray. The question is, do I want to throw Kane under the bus in the process?

“I think this is the last one.” Mom brings me back to reality. I look up to see her drop a box of my stuff into the trunk.

I hope I’m doing the right thing by dropping out. I figured I could always come back if I change my mind, but with everything that’s happened, I don’t feel like staying in school studying something I’m not truly passionate about is the right thing to do.

I’m not the same person I was when I chose to major in communications. That girl would’ve never even dreamed of opening her own store and trying to make it as an artist.

I’ve been selling a few paintings here and there—definitely not enough to make a living, but it’s convinced me to take this more seriously. I’m also blessed to have my mom fully supporting me in this endeavor.

She’s agreed to let me move into her condo rent-free while I give my dream career a real shot. I intend to get a job to help out, but most of my time will be spent looking for opportunities to get my work in front of the right people.

Mom shuts the trunk of her car, offering me a warm smile. “You ready?”

I glance at the dorms, torn between feeling sentimental about the past and hopeful for the future.

“I’m ready.”

* * *

KANE

The day I took my mother to visit her new house, she cried.

And believe it or not, they weren’t tears of joy.

I remember her going off on me, telling me that she was perfectly fine in that tiny LA apartment she was renting, and she didn’t want me to feel like I had to spend my hard-earned money on her.

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