Fuck it. I’ve worked too hard at becoming a badass to stop going for what I want now.

Embracing my newfound courage for as long as it lasts, I retrieve my phone and tap out a new message.

Evie
In the interest of honesty, I need to admit something.

I am kind of head-over-ass for your brother.

And I’m going to tell him.

I’m sorry.

Please don’t hate me.

Then I toss my phone to the side, take a deep breath, and hobble upstairs.

My heart is pounding so heavily that I can’t even hear the sound of my fist knocking on Salem’s door. For all I know, it’s silent. Except then, the door opens, and Salem is standing there, and my first thought on seeing him and the flannel pants hanging off his hips and his mess of midnight hair is I cannot believe I ever thought there was anything about this boy that needed fixing.

“Evie, hey, you’re back. And booted! That seems promising.” When I don’t respond, don’t—can’t—even smile, his face grows serious. “Everything okay?”

I shake my head, and he steps aside to let me in, then closes the door behind me. My eyes sweep the room, not just looking to confirm Matt’s out (he is) but to drink it all in. So many of my memories of this first semester at Camden are wrapped up in this room, and if this all goes to hell and I’m not welcome back here, I want to at least know that my last time is my last time.

“You’re kinda freaking me out,” he says as he sits in his desk chair, rolling back and forth across the linoleum. “Are you leaving? Don’t tell me you’re leaving.”

It’s something to cling to, so I do, wrapping myself in it as I take a seat on his bed so I can elevate my ankle. In an ideal world, I’d have a quicker escape route if I need it, but nothing about this is ideal. “Would you be upset if I was?”

He furrows those dark brows. “Is that a trick question? We’ve been over this. I know I’m an asshole, but yes, Evie, if you need to hear me say it, we are friends. Happy now?”

“Even though I ruined your relationship with Jenna?”

“You didn’t ruin my relationship with Jenna, if you can even call it that,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “Nothing about that was your fault.”