Where Is The Edge

Chapter 15

"Oh, come here!" I didn't hesitate to extend my arms and give him the tight hug he deserved. For being 6'2 tall, he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up to squeeze me maybe twice as tight, making me groan.

"Hey, easy!" Marcia laughed.

Chuckling, Stefan lowered me and focused his gaze on the woman accompanying us. He didn't flinch at disguising that mischievous look, though he never really did. Marcia once mentioned to me that the black-haired guy gave me away a long time ago only by his behavior when she was around me.

"Miss Clark, nice to see you here," he greeted her.

"Likewise," she replied, "and happy birthday," the older woman proceeded to hug him for a brief moment, but he was an overly expressive boy, so he reciprocated with a warmer hug.

"Thank you so much. More grateful every day for being a Sagittarius," he replied, making me roll my eyes in amusement at how every year he repeated the same thing. I didn't blame him, though. Sagittarius are amazing and I was privileged to have one of them as a friend.

"I'm a Virgo," she smiled innocently.

"That explains so much," Stefan commented, laughing, "anyway, are you going to stay?"

"Oh no, I have to get back to my children," she gently declined.

"You should have brought your kids too!" He exclaimed, "I've heard so much about Kyle and Travis that I've been dying to meet them."

Marcia gave me a look, one that possessed much adoration, and I again fell for her charms. How could I not talk about her and the lovely children I was already beginning to consider my own?

"Travis has school tomorrow, and look what time it is. Some other time we'll all go out," she proposed.

"Sure, see you then," he hugged her again to say goodbye, and then she said goodbye to me in the same way. How I longed to kiss her at that moment. Once Marcia left, Stefan sighed, "you guys are so cute. I could really see how her look literally changed to one of pure love when she looked at you."

"I don't deserve any of this," I confessed.

I never thought having to lie would hurt so much. It was a fact that I was off the hook for any accusations, so there was zero chance of Marcia finding out what I did, and even though that subject was no longer addressed, I felt every day that I was lying to her by simply not confessing my crime.

I had no fucking idea how she would react. Everything assured me that she would still stand by me, even though it would hurt her.

"Take back what you said," he pointed his finger at me, "of course you deserve someone who loves you like she loves you. You deserve to be where you are and you deserve to be better every day."

"I killed Peter Westerholt," I spat it out as if it were a stream of words that, whether I wanted them to or not, would come out at the first opportunity.

I didn't even want to look up to see my best friend's reaction. It was probably one of great disappointment and disgust, like that of every person who recognized me on the street, but the difference was that it came from someone I loved and had lied to, so it was a thousand times worse.