Chapter Eleven
MILA
The committee meeting was supposed to be routine—Elise in her element, practiced smile in place, while the school board liaison cooed over her clipboard as though it were the cure for cancer.
My job? Event entry coordination. Stand at the door and smile.
A placeholder role, just enough to claim I was reinstated without giving me anything that mattered.
Fine. This wasn’t how I wanted to spend my time—it was mandated, and that was the only reason I was here.
That, and to figure out why someone cared enough to put me back on the list—and who the hell Mr. Langley was.
I needed to push Elise for answers but not let her see I wanted them.
If she did, she’d twist it into another weapon.
I tuned most of the conversation out. My pencil wandered instead, sketching in the margin of the packet—nothing focused, just lines that spiraled into something almost resembling wings before I pressed too hard and the lead snapped.
Elise didn’t look at me once. And somehow, that unsettled me more than if she had. Maybe her silence wasn’t about me at all but about who she’d spoken with—Mr. Langley.
Her pen slipped against the page, leaving a streak of ink. She smoothed it like nothing had happened, but her jaw ticked once. The moms around her didn’t notice. I did. Elise hated being ignored, and right now, she was pretending I wasn’t even in the room.
When the meeting broke, I slipped out the side door before she could think of a reason to pull me back. The sun hit low and gold across the library steps, and the air carried an earthy, damp scent. I adjusted my bag and was halfway down when I heard it.
“Hey.”
I turned to find Tori. She hugged her tablet to her chest as if it were armor, strawberry-blond ponytail pulled tight, eyes darting toward the quad before she stepped closer.
“Is Theo avoiding everyone today or just me?” Her voice tried for breezy, but the stiffness in her shoulders gave her away.
I blinked, keeping my tone flat. “Haven’t seen him.”
She gave a clipped nod. “Right. Must be avoiding me, then.”
The wind picked up her ponytail, strands sticking against her lip gloss. She didn’t bother fixing them.
I kept my expression neutral. “If you want to talk to him, do it.”
Tori scoffed under her breath before brushing her hair back. “Easy for you to say.”
I tilted my head. “Why wouldn’t it be for you?”
Her teeth caught her bottom lip, a word half-formed, before she swallowed. Then she shifted, weight sliding back. “Just… tell him I need to talk to him.”
“Want me to tell him something?”
Her eyes flashed sharp and hard. “No.”
Her refusal snapped like a lock clicking shut, and I couldn’t tell if she was protecting herself or Elise. Maybe both. Maybe neither. Which made her even more difficult to read.
For a second, though, something flickered behind the edge—hesitation, maybe even regret. Then she spun on her heel and crossed the lawn without waiting for an answer.
I stood there longer than I meant to, pulse quick and uneven. Tori wasn’t on my side. But she wasn’t fully on Elise’s either. Something was cracking open. I just didn’t know which way it would break.
My phone buzzed in my hand before I could unlock it. It was Avery.
Avery: Survived the meeting?
Me: Barely.
Avery: What happened?
Me: Same circus. Elise still center ring.
Avery: You okay?
I hesitated while crossing to my car, phone still in my hand as I slid into the driver’s seat.
Me: Not really. Can I call you?
When she didn’t immediately answer, I called. She picked up on the first ring.
“Okay.” Avery’s voice was a mix of relief and exhaustion. “Talk.”
I slumped into the driver’s seat, keys cold in my hand. “Elise is unraveling. She tried to block me from the committee completely—erase-my-name-off-the-list-level petty. And it almost worked. But someone bigger overruled her and shoved me back on.”
Avery made a sound caught between a gasp and a scoff. “Wait—what? She can just do that?”
“She thought she could.” My laugh came out thin.
“The only reason I was there in the first place was because someone on the board—or one of the companies they answer to—made me. Mandated. And before you ask, I don’t know who or why.
It’s not because anyone actually wants me there. Least of all Elise.”
“Okay… guess we’ll have to put a pin in that for now. But you’re back on the committee.”
“Yeah. And Elise is pretending she’s fine with it when she’s definitely not. I don’t even know what game I’m in anymore, except I’m a pivotal piece on the board being moved around at someone’s whim.”
Avery’s silence stretched. Then, carefully: “So… someone out there wants you visible. That’s not nothing, Mila.”
The words landed in my ribs, a punch I didn’t see coming. Because she was right. And I still had no answer for who—or why.
“So that’s good, right?”
“Maybe. Or maybe I’m being used. I don’t know.” I hesitated, breath catching before I forced it out. “And there’s something else I haven’t told you.”
I couldn’t keep it from her anymore. Not all of it.
The weird committee summons. The whatever-this-was with Luke—close one second, off-limits the next.
But the threat against Mom and me? The question of whether Langley was alive or dead?
That stayed locked down. I wasn’t putting a target on Avery’s back.
“What?”
“I kissed Luke.” My throat went tight. “Not once. A few times now. But no one can know. We’re not… a couple. Not in the halls, not at school. It’s safer if we keep distance there.”
Silence hummed down the line. Avery’s voice came soft but steady. “So, you trust him again. But do you forgive him for how he’s treated you?”
The question struck deep, a shove I hadn’t braced for. “That’s not the same thing.”
“No,” she agreed. “It’s not.”
“I trust him.” My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “I have to.”
“But forgiving?” she pressed.
I let my head fall back against the seat. “He listened this time. Really listened. He didn’t throw what I told him back at me.”
“That’s trust,” Avery pointed out gently. “Not forgiveness.”
The silence stretched. I stared out at the line of cars thinning in the lot. “I let him kiss me. That should’ve been enough. That should’ve said everything.”
Her inhale was sharp. “And?”
“And I kissed him back, Aves.” The words scraped out of me. “Because it felt inevitable. Like if I didn’t, I’d split in half. And I hate that. I hate that I still want him after everything.”
Avery didn’t rush in. Just let me spiral.
“I left without explaining,” I whispered. “And when I came back, he didn’t shut the door on me. He could’ve. Maybe he should’ve. But he didn’t.”
“So he’s earned trust,” she said. “But, again, what about forgiveness? That’s different, Mila. That’s letting go of the hurt.”
“I don’t know if I can. I still feel like he could turn on me and shut me out again. Maybe it’s an irrational fear, I don’t know.”
Her voice was steady now. “Then don’t force it. Just be honest—with yourself and with him.”
The words settled heavy in my chest.
Finally, I exhaled. “Enough about me. Any news with you and Jax?”
She hesitated. “He walked me to my car today.” A pause, softer. “But he’s still holding back, as if there’s more he wants to say and he’s not sure he should.”
Protectiveness twined with hope filtered through me. “Give him time. He’ll get there.”
Her breath caught faintly on the other end, as though she wanted to believe me.
We hung up, but her question still echoed as I started the car and then drove out of the school lot. If I couldn’t forgive Luke, then what was left of us?