Forgotten Rules (Rules 4)

“But… we are going to tell him, right?”

He hesitates, and that silence alone sends me spiraling. I keep my eyes glued to him. It all comes down to this moment. To his answer. I refuse to be his dirty little secret.

I need to hear him say it.

“Yes.” He nods. “As soon as he comes back into town, I’ll tell him.”

“Pinky promise?” I lift my finger, sounding vulnerable—like I’m begging him not to hurt me—and I hate it.

He smiles.

And laces his pinky around mine. “Promise.”

It’s one in the morning when Will and I stumble through Morgan’s front door. Elbowing him in the stomach to remind him to keep his voice down, I muffle my own laughter at the stupid joke he just told me. Knowing Morgan, she’s already in bed. Ethan is here, too. His car is out front.

He took the couch. Said he’d rather crash at Morgan’s than stay at his sister’s house where he’s reminded every five seconds that his parents kicked him out of the family home. Especially seeing as he recently decided to defer college a year and he’s got all this time on his hands now.

Morgan’s parents will be coming back from their trip in a few days, which means Will is going to have to start sneaking in through my bedroom window to keep up pretenses. Highly doubt my mom will approve of us dating after the Winter fiasco.

We spent the night up on the hill, laughing, looking at the stars on the hood of his car, driving around. Remember when Will said he’d missed me? Well, once the sun went down, he proceeded to show me how much—also on the hood of his car.

Will spins me around two steps inside the kitchen, kissing me slow and making my stomach the victim of a herd of angry butterflies.

“Are you staying for the night?” I wrap my arms around his neck, pecking the corner of his mouth. “Or… maybe we could go to your place?”

I expect a reply along the lines of “Sure, I’ll introduce you to my mom.” I mean, we are officially together, aren’t we? But what I get instead… Is an uncomfortable smile and a quick “Here is fine.”

“I just thought maybe you could show me your place. You know, since I’ve never seen where you live.”

He clears his throat. “Yeah… I’d rather not. My mom’s a bit strict on guests, and the place is kind of a mess.”

Okay…?

“Your mom, what’s she like? I’d love to meet her.”

His hands leave my waist. “She’s very busy. She’s actually out of town right now. I’d be surprised if you got to meet her anytime soon.”

Red flag.

Everything about this moment rubs me the wrong way, but I choose to drop it for the time being.

“All right. We’ll take the guest room, then.” I spring to my tiptoes, smacking a kiss across his cheek. His shoulders sink with a relief I’m pretty sure I wasn’t meant to see. We end up making sandwiches, emptying Morgan’s pantry and chatting for another hour. We laugh, make out, do all the things I used to dream about. But something feels… off.

I once asked him if his mom was okay. If she’d found a way to rebuild her life after Will’s father took everything and ran. He said yes, but… there has to be a reason he doesn’t want me to see his place. Why he acts differently at the mere mention of her. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t deny what’s right in front of me.

Will is lying to me.

And I’m going to figure out why.

Will

Getting into my car and slamming the door, I slump into the driver’s seat, eyes fixed on the texts Alex just sent me.

Alex: Dude, why the fuck haven’t you been taking Kendrick’s calls?

Alex: He said to call him ASAP. He needs to talk to you.

I cringe. Kendrick’s been calling me since the day I came back into town, but I can’t bring myself to pick up. Why does he need to talk to me? Does he know? While I’d love to believe no one has been cruel enough to pull the rug from under me and tell Kendrick the truth, the odds aren’t in our favor.