Looking out into the dark woods, Micah sighs. “None of this is your fault.”
“I kissed Griffin. That was definitely my fault.” At the time, it’d felt like the only way to show Micah that he hadn’t wrecked me. “But I wouldn’t have kissed him in the first place if you hadn’t walked into homecoming with Alora.”
“That’s true. At least I hope so. The image of you and Griff is burned into my fucking eyeballs.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was—”
“You were angry with me. I get it.”
I rub my hand over my forehead. “This is all a huge mess.”
“Sort of. It will all work itself out.”
“But I guess you never would have remembered it was me if I hadn’t gone off and kissed Griffin, then gotten called a slut for it.”
“You’d have told me eventually. I believe that. But, yeah, that’s what triggered my memory of that day.”
“What I still don’t understand is why you felt you had to fulfill some promise to Alora. Was it really that important, considering the chain of events it’s set off?”
His sigh is heavy when he says, “I need for you to trust that I’m handling things on that end.” He rakes his fingers over the short hair on top of his head. “I know that’s a lot to ask of you right now.”
“Micah …”
“Image is everything to someone like Alora. When she realized I was serious about you it made her a little crazy.”
“Like Aria freaked out about Xander?”
“Eh, Aria has her own fucked-up issues. She and Xander have a weird friendship. Once she realized Scarlett wasn’t going to stand in the way of that, she was cool with her. And Aria would never do anything to hurt Xander. Or Scarlett, for that matter, since she’s important to him.” He works his jaw back and forth. “Now, Alora … she has a different kind of mean streak.”
“You’re scaring me.”
His eyes slam shut, and he grabs the back of his neck, tugging at it. He’s quiet for several moments. “Look, she knows you aren’t just another girl to me. She still wants what I’m no longer offering.” He clears his throat. “I tried to make her understand, but— Please, Daph, understand I’m trying to protect you.”
“But I don’t understand,” I say, my voice rising. “Micah, what aren’t you telling me?”