I pulled it out from underneath my shirt. There was no reason to hide it anymore. “When we were little, I used to sneak over to Miles’ tree house at night to look at the stars. He taught me about all the constellations. Sagitta was my favorite. It was hard to find because it was so small. You had to search and search to really see it.” I ran my fingers over the pendant. “The arrow reminded me of cupid’s arrow too. I was madly in love with him and I always hoped he’d be struck by it.” I let the necklace fall back into place.
“Is that true?” Miles asked.
I nodded.
“So sweet,” Kins said. “God, you two are the most adorable couple ever. So all this time you still loved each other? Did you buy the necklace to remember him?”
“No, he gave it to me the first night we ever held hands.” The memory was bittersweet. Bliss before utter destruction. My whole world had been flipped upside down in a matter of minutes. I could still see the sky lighting up blue and red from the police car.
Miles grabbed my hand under the table. It was like he could hear my unspoken thoughts. Just like when we were little. He squeezed my hand and tried to absorb my pain.
“There’s nothing more romantic than childhood sweethearts,” Kins said.
Patrick squeezed her shoulder. “What about college sweethearts?”
“Or secret vigilante team sweethearts?” Liza looked up at Eli.
Eli laughed. “By the way, I’m sorry I unmasked you, man. No hard feelings?” He stuck his hand out to Miles.
Miles narrowed his eyes slightly. “Nothing else you want to apologize for?”
“Miles,” I said. “It doesn’t matter.”
“No, he’s right,” Eli said. “I’m sorry for trying to steal Summer away. Really. I knew who you were and honestly, I knew she was still in love with you and I still kept interfering. You two were meant to be together. I mean it.” He stuck his hand back out.
Miles shook it.
“Besides, I finally opened up my eyes and realized that what I was missing was right in front of me.” He looked down at Liza and her face turned bright red.
“I have another question,” Liza said.
Miles sighed. “Haven’t I answered enough questions for one night?”
She laughed. “It isn’t anything bad. I was just wondering if you changed your bandages recently? They looked pretty…um…bloody earlier. We really need you tomorrow and…”
“I’m fine. But speaking of tomorrow, we need to get Patrick and Kins up to speed.” He turned to them. “I heard there was a little bit of accidental firing in the hotel the other morning, Kins. I can teach you and Patrick…”
“Babe, you shot a gun?” Patrick asked.
She shrugged. “We kind of kicked ass yesterday. Didn’t we, Liza?” She held her hand up for a high-five.
“Heck yeah we did, slut.” Liza slapped her hand.
Kins just stared at her. “Why would you call me that? I’ve been dating Patrick for months. I…”
“Because we’re friends. That’s what friends do.”
Eli whispered something into Liza’s ear.
Liza nodded. “Okay so apparently some friends do when it’s cool with everyone. We’ll talk about that later. First we have some training to do.” She rubbed her hands together.
“Miles, I can show them if you want,” Eli said. “I heard you got pretty banged up yesterday.”
Miles stared at him. “I’m fine. You just got out of the hospital. I got this.”
“Really, I can…”
“I’ll do it,” I said and stood up. “You both need rest.” I didn’t tell them that the last time I had held a gun I froze. I had an opportunity to shoot Don, but I was worried I’d miss. At least, that’s what I told myself. I was concerned that it was more than that though. What if I couldn’t pull the trigger when it mattered?