Semua Bab Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can: Bab 51 - Bab 60

☆☆SUMMER'S POV☆☆ What do you do when your best friend tells you that his brother whom you’re crazy about is a murderer? Laugh. And that’s what I did. I didn’t mean to laugh. But when Jake said it again, I did. Just a tiny, broken sound that fell out of my mouth before I could swallow it. It sounded fake. And it felt worse. My brows pinched together, shock and disbelief etched into my face. The word “murderer” didn’t even fit in my head. “What?” “Hayden is a murderer,” he repeated for the third time now. I chuckled again. “You’re joking, right?” “I wish,” Jake said. He didn’t look angry. That was worse too—he just looked… tired. Old. Like he’d aged five years since the front door slammed. “Don’t laugh, Summer. Sit down.” He pulled me by the wrist, gentle but unyielding. I let him. He planted me on the couch like I was a child about to receive a decent amount of lecture and scolding. “I know we’ve grown, Summer,” Jake said. He crouched in front of me. His eyes were to

☆☆SUMMER'S POV☆☆I stepped out of the student advisor’s office clutching the folder to my chest like it was the last thing holding me together. My lip still stung where Hayden had bit it. I could taste the faint iron of it every time I pressed my tongue there, just to check if the mark was real. It was.Jake was waiting by the railing just outside the glass doors before the lobby. His phone in one hand, the other jammed in his pocket. He looked too neat for this cold, dusty hallway. Too sharp. Too perfect. And I was about to walk with him, looking like a dusty old hag in my mum jeans and crusty tee shirt.His eyes flicked to my mouth the second I stepped out. His smile was thin. Tight. A blade hidden behind white teeth.“All done?” he asked.I nodded, hugging the folder tighter. “Yeah. I got the override slip.”“Nice,” he said. “Hi-five.”Our palms slapped together—once, twice—then we flipped them, backhand to backhand, our fingers locking for half a second before we pulled apart. Jak

♤♤JAKE’S POV♤♤The car felt too small. Too dark, even with the sun outside. I could smell Summer’s perfume mixed with sweat and anger and something sour that made my chest twist.“Jake—” she tried.I laughed. It was soft, broken. Dangerous. I tapped the steering wheel with my thumb like it was Hayden’s throat under my palm.“Don’t.” I didn’t look at her. “Just don’t, Summer.”I pressed my forehead to the window. The glass was cool, soothing. My reflection looked wrong. Like someone I didn’t remember becoming. A man who almost let rage split his ribs wide open.“You’re still my best friend, Jake. You know that. We’ve been best friends since we were kids. Why should that end now? Because of… a little fight?”She tried to make her voice soft. Sweet. It worked on me all the time. It always worked like magic.“The fight wasn’t so little,” I said. “It is little,” she pushed. “We’ve had bigger fights. Remember eighth grade? When I fell down the stairs at school while talking to Reed Stevens

♤♤JAKE'S POV♤♤ My thumbs went instantly numb. And something hot coiled in my chest. Summer must have changed her password because of Hayden, maybe. Or to keep me out. I stared at her peaceful form, my heartbeat steady despite the rage building. A low growl rumbled in my throat. Nothing keeps me out, Summer. Not for long. I’d played this charade all my life, and made her believe I was the perfect, innocent best friend. That I’d been nothing but good. I’d actually believed that lie too, despite the things I’d done. I’d strived to be the best friend she wanted, but these days I’d felt that lie slip further down the drain more times than I could count. I exhaled through my nose. Trying to remain calm. I tucked the phone back under her pillow. Brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. She didn’t stir. Not even when I leaned close enough to taste the warmth of her breath. She was perfect. Asleep. Yet beautiful. I knelt lower. Close enough that my knees brushed the bedframe. Close

♡♡HAYDEN’S POV♡♡My mother? Has she been found? I wondered.I needed to hear what JT had to say. But as I stole one glance at Summer, my heart melted. The phone buzzed again—another message. Another demand. Another threat waiting with JT’s name on it, waiting for me to come hear about the woman I’d searched for in years.I stared at the screen until the words blurred. I could get up now. Slide out from under Summer’s soft, clinging weight. Let her whisper my name into an empty pillow while I drowned myself in my filth.I should’ve. But I didn’t. I just couldn’t leave her alone. Not with Jake. I turned the phone face-down on the night stand and let it buzz itself dead. Let Ernesto wait. Let JT wait. Let the news about my mother wait. Let the whole fucking world wait.Summer shifted against me, a soft sound in her throat like a dream curling into real air. Her fingers were still fisted in my shirt, warm and small, like she thought I’d disappear if she let go. I wouldn’t. Not tonight.