“There were times I had no choice but to give up parts of myself, so it was really important I never gave anything to those who didn’t deserve to have it. What I’m trying to say is, I thought everyone wanted a piece of me, and I had no choice but to hand the pieces over, but you showed me…” What it’s like to give someone a piece.

“You showed me differently,” was all I said.

She slid off me, pulling her knees up to cover her naked chest. There were tears in her eyes, and alarm pounded in my chest.

“Why are you crying?”

“Because I’m a liar,” she said. “I have so many secrets, Grayson. You wouldn’t look at me the same if you knew.”

“Try me.”

Her brow knitted further, and it must have been minutes before she actually said anything. “You know my mom had her demons. You know I did bad things.”

I remembered what she’d told me. We stole a lot. She taught me how to use my perceived innocence to trap men. Other times it was darker…

“You don’t have to tell me, Story.”

“I want to. I’ve been…holding it in.”

I waited.

“She’d get these guys involved with her, and once they stopped giving her what she wanted, whether it was affection, time, money, that’s when I came in. She’d have me lie, say I’d go to the cops and tell them they raped me.”

A stale silence followed her confession. Story buried her face in her knobby, hazelnut knees, as if trying to hide.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I said lamely.

“It was…” she said. “But I paid for it.”

I pulled her back, forced her head down on my pec. “Go to sleep, Snitch. I’ll be here in the morning.”

STORY

I knew many hours had passed by the time I woke, because the room was warm and bright. I could hear the caw of seagulls, then the crush of waves, and a strip of bright sunshine heated my right arm. I stretched my arms, fulfilled.

Then it hit me. I was alone.

Every horrible thought slammed into my head at once. It was like video I’d watched of an escalator breaking down. Hundreds of people falling into one another, crammed to one position. Those were my thoughts.

Worthless. Useless. Good for one thing.

“Good. You’re awake.”

I gasped at the voice. Tansy fucking Crowne leaned in the doorway in a light Chanel suit, watching me. How long had she been watching?

This is a nightmare. I haven’t woken up.

I scrambled to cover myself. My clothing was still where we’d left it by the door, so I could only reach for Grayson’s bomber.

She gave me a tight smile. “If I see something new, I’ll tell you.”

Still I held his jacket tighter.

“What…where…”