36

Nico’s Point of View

I stayed away on purpose.

It wasn’t some random errand or emergency I just couldn’t be in that house today. Not with him back.

Alexander.

The name felt like smoke in my mouth, like something that refused to leave even after I tried to bury it.

I knew he’d come back eventually. I just didn’t think it would rattle me this much.

I didn’t think seeing him again would feel like someone reopening a wound I’d stitched up with lies and silence.

And now?

Now he’s back in the same house. Breathing the same air.

Looking at Missy with those unreadable eyes like he knows something like he’s already said goodbye to secrets and is just waiting to set the whole truth on fire.

I couldn't let that happen.

Not yet.

Not when everything was finally starting to feel right between Missy and me.

I sat in the car, parked a few blocks from the street, engine off, staring blankly at the steering wheel like it had all the answers I didn’t.

What if she already knows?

No. Alexander wouldn't say anything. Not yet.

He wouldn’t drop that on her so suddenly. He’s smarter than that he observes first. Waits.

I should know. I used to be just like him.

Or at least I wanted to be.

I leaned my head back against the seat, closing my eyes.

All I could see was Missy. Her face the day she smiled at me with real trust in her eyes.

The day she first held my hand. The night she told me she felt safe around me.

She didn’t know.

She didn’t know I had blood on my hands.

Her brother’s blood.

A life I stole. A mistake that wrecked her world before I even knew she existed.

And now I sleep in the same house as her. I kiss her lips. I dream of her every night. I call her mine.

I opened my eyes, throat tight.

Maybe I was worse than Alexander.

He ran from the truth. But I’ve been lying by pretending it never happened.

It was almost evening when I returned.

I stepped through the front door and instantly heard faint laughter coming from the kitchen.

Missy’s voice.

His too.

My hand clenched at my side.

I didn’t even bother announcing myself.

I just walked slowly past the hallway, just enough to see them.

Missy was smiling. The soft kind of smile she gave only when she felt safe. Her hair was loose, her eyes bright.

And Alexander?

He was sitting casually at the counter, half-turned toward her, a drink in one hand, leaning just a little too close.

I didn’t say anything.

I just turned and went upstairs.

I shut the door behind me and locked it. Pacing.

They were laughing.

I should be happy she was laughing.

That’s all I ever wanted for her to smile. To forget the weight of grief.

To feel light again.

So why did it feel like my chest was being crushed?

Jealousy?

No. It was deeper than that.

Fear.

I was afraid she’d choose him again. Even after everything. Even after me.

Because how do you compete with someone who didn’t destroy her family?

Because how do I tell her the truth and still expect her to love me?

I sat on the bed and dragged my hands down my face.

I could lie for a little longer.

Maybe Alexander wouldn’t say anything.

Maybe I could get her far away before the truth blew everything up.

But even as the thought crossed my mind, I hated myself for it.

Missy deserved honesty. She deserved the truth. But how do I look her in the eyes and say:

“I shot your brother by mistake. I didn’t know it was him. I didn’t know it was you I’d fall for. I didn’t know I’d end up wishing it had been me instead.”

I stood, restless, and opened the window.

The air outside was heavy. The kind of thick, cloudy heat that comes right before a storm.

Something was coming. I could feel it.

And this time, I wasn’t sure if we’d survive it.

Later that night, I didn’t eat dinner.

I waited until the whole house was quiet.

Missy had gone to her room. I heard her door shut an hour ago. She hadn’t come looking for me.

Maybe she noticed I was gone all day. Maybe she was with him for most of it.

I hated thinking that.

I hated myself for even caring when I was the one with the darkest secret between us.

I sat on the floor beside my bed, my back against the wall.

In my hand, I held the pendant Missy gave me weeks ago.

A small charm shaped like a crescent moon. She had given it to me when we had our first real night together. Not physical, just close her head on my chest, my fingers in her hair.

“I always wanted to give this to someone who meant something,” she’d whispered.

Now I stared at it like it was a ticking time bomb.

If I told her everything, would she still mean it?

Or would she rip it off my neck and never speak to me again?

My fingers tightened around the charm.

There was only one person who knew what I did.

Noelle.

She warned me not to get close. Told me to keep my distance and live in the shadows like I deserved.

But I didn’t listen.

And now, Alexander was back.

And Missy was still in the dark.

But not for long.

Because secrets like mine?

They never stay buried forever.