Chapter 15
MICAH
My mind was racing, even as I let myself be soothed by Ava’s soft, addictive kisses.
We were college students. We were supposed to be enjoying life before we entered the drudgery of a full-time job. But this? This was a nightmare that there was no waking up from.
We had to get out of here. I kissed Ava harder, losing myself in the sweetness of her mouth.
“Want to go somewhere?” I suggested when we drew apart, doing my best to ignore my hardening dick.
It jerked when Ava eyed me beneath her lashes and leaned forward, her hand sliding onto my leg.
At least one part of me was working normally.
“Where?” she whispered.
I swallowed, my hands flexing around the steering wheel. “Anywhere away from here. I don’t want to think about it.”
Her palm brushed over my thigh. “Okay.”
No one had ever come here before. Not until now. Not until Ava.
I watched, my heart beating out of my chest as she took in the rickety structure between the branches of the tree at the farthest corner of my backyard, built way before I was born. I felt so raw, as if I were exposing the deepest parts of me, with no guarantee she’d understand.
My dad never understood. He wanted me to fit into a mold that was the wrong shape for me. He never understood my need for silence, to be alone, to soak in the quietness until the stress of the day disappeared.
My uncle had built this treehouse, and then he’d disappeared. He’d told us he didn’t want to live here anymore, that he wanted to be at peace, and then…he was gone. Just like everyone else.
After a long silence, Ava spoke softly.
“I can see you here.”
Her words brought a lump to my throat. I settled back against the thickest part of the trunk. Stretching my legs out along the wooden boards that made up the platform, I widened them slightly, crooking my finger toward her.
“Ava. Come here.”
“Micah,” she breathed, sinking down between my legs and laying her back against my chest, her head falling to my shoulder.
I wrapped my arms around her, feeling her body relax against mine, her breaths evening out.
How had this happened? Even now, I was struggling to process it.
The fact that this amazing woman had chosen to be here with me…
I swallowed before kissing her temple. “How are you feeling?” My thumb stroked across her stomach.
“Okay.” Her voice shook. I hated that I had to steer things in an impersonal direction, but at the same time, I wanted this nightmare to be over. I wanted things to go back to normal…except…with the woman I wanted. I wanted Ava to be mine.
You want Cruz and Grayson, too.
I pushed that thought aside. “Did you get the grades back for your assignment?”
She inhaled sharply. “You remembered?”
“Yeah.” Whatever shit was happening in our personal lives, we were still trying to keep on top of our college courses—and it was hard, but Ava hadn’t let anything deter her. And she was still skating.
Even though the professors had been accommodating because of everything that had happened, and they’d allowed us all some leeway with submission dates, she’d still had a deadline of five days after the funeral.
“I passed. My professor said it was my best work,” she whispered, and I tightened my arms around her, pressing my smile into her hair.
“Proud of you.”
She was silent for a long moment, and then she spoke, her voice hesitant. “This tree house… Can you tell me about it? If you—”
“Yeah,” I said. “I can tell you. My uncle built it. I’m not sure how old he was—my dad never wanted to talk about it, but it was when they were kids, I think. Probably teenagers. My uncle shared it with me when I was eight. He said he could tell that I-I— Fuck.” I swallowed hard. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” she murmured, her fingers sliding over mine, gently squeezing my hands.
“Yeah. I know. It’s just… It’s hard. He said he could tell that I needed it. That I was like him. That I didn’t fit in, and I needed a place I could go where no one would bother me. Somewhere I could escape. A year later…he was gone. He—he took his own life.”
“Shit,” Ava cursed softly, twisting in my arms so she could press kisses to my face, her arms winding around my neck as she turned to face me fully.
Straddling my thighs, she met my gaze, her eyes wide and serious.
“Micah… In case you needed to hear it, you fit in. You fit with me, and with Cruz, and with Grayson. Without you, there would be no us.”
I ducked my head, biting down on my lip. I wished I could believe her words, but…
“Micah. I mean it. You know me. You know how I tried so hard to fit in, and yet I never felt like I belonged. But now I do—with you, and the guys. None of us would have chosen the circumstances that brought us together, but the fact is, we are together, and we fit.”
“Yeah?” I said hoarsely.
She nodded, smiling at me, and I leaned forward to brush a kiss across her lips. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Her smile dropped. “I hope Cruz and Gray are okay. I worry about them. Sometimes it feels as if they think they’re invincible, but they’re not.”
My mouth twisted. “Yeah.”
She was right. Cruz and Grayson were both too confident for their own good, in different ways.
While they both had their insecurities—insecurities I could have never even imagined that lay beneath the surface just a few months ago—they were too eager to push for answers, to put themselves into dangerous situations without thinking of the possible consequences.
I ignored the voice in my head, reminding me that I’d put myself in danger at the lake and Grayson had rescued me on a Jet Ski.
I still had flashbacks of that moment, being chased through the undergrowth, fleeing for my life, with an unknown person or persons hot on my heels, their dog gaining on me…
If Gray hadn’t been there then, I might not be here now.
And that was why I needed to go back. I knew that place held answers.
But after what had happened to Livy, I knew that whoever was behind it all would stop at nothing. They might be quiet now—aside from the threatening text, but we knew they were only biding their time.
Our lives were at stake.
If we started digging deeper, we might end up digging our own graves.