Hidden Away

Twenty-Eight: Known Circumstances

We put every emotion possible into this kiss. Anger, happiness, regret, and anything I can think of is present. He's angry with himself for even thinking about leaving, and I'm angry with myself for hurting him. We're both happy for being back with each other, but we regret doing what we did to each other. And we let each other know that in this kiss.

I'm not sure how long it lasts. I'm not even aware of the lack of air I'm receiving until Evan pulls away and I'm left panting heavily and needing his touch again. We rest our foreheads against each other's. I feel Evan's hot breath fanning my face before he plants another quick kiss on my lips. He finally lets me down and we embrace in a hug. His hand finds its way into my hair, and he pushes my head down onto his shoulder.

"I love you so much," he whispers.

My heart does a thing.

I'm left frozen in place, and I don't know what to reply with. I'm not sure if I should say it back —because I do. I do love him, but I don't know if saying it now would make me look like a fool because of everything I've done. Then it dawns on me that he heard my conversation with my brother, so I say it anyway.

"I love you too," I whisper in his ear.

We stand there together, just holding each other and taking in the others' scents, and when we pull away, I spot Rowan making his way over to us, a smile spread wide on his lips. "That was cute," he teases. His smile grows wider than ever when I feel my cheeks burning up. His next words are directed towards Evan. "Why don't you make her your girlfriend already and let's go see what's so special about this girl that made my sister—" he glances at me before fixing his gaze back on Evan, "—so upset."

Evan looks down at me, a smile of his own on his face. "Girlfriend sounds nice, doesn't it?" he asks.

My smile is confirmation enough, and when Evan leans down to press another kiss on my lips, it becomes official.

"Well then, girlfriend." I smile at his emphasis of the word. "Let's go meet this girl."

***

We don't even make it all the way into the room when Evan's shocked voice sounds behind me. "Holy shit." I'm surprised he recognizes her right away, which makes a dull ache settle in the bottom of my stomach. I have been hoping that who this girl says she is, isn't true, but if Evan sees it, it must be.

I turn to look at him, and his eyes are wide, his mouth is wide open, and his complexion is even a little paler. He looks at me, as if he's asking for confirmation that he's seeing who's in front of him correctly. I nod slightly, and that's when he asks, "What the hell?"

"I know," I answer, looking back at our friend. She's sleeping soundly, and she couldn't look more innocent. "I found her dying in the forest on the way back from the bus stop," I explain. "She was attacked."

"How the hell do you know this girl and how did you coincidentally find her dying in the forest? What was she doing there?" Rowan fills my ears with questions I hadn't thought of before. He steps forward as he asks them with a confused look. He's the only one out of the three of us that has thought of any of these question

I turn to him. "We knew her when we were little," I start, glancing at Evan. "We were playing outside one day, and I wasn't in control of my powers..." I trail off. I don't feel like talking about it at the moment. The only reason I told Lily was because it came out of me in the moment.

Evan places a hand on my shoulder as he addresses my brother. "She supposedly killed her." He glances at our sleeping friend. Hearing the words even though she's laying in front of me doesn't get easier.