Page 104 of Striking Range

“Well, if you had told me about this master plan sooner, I wouldn’t have been so shocked,” I reply defensively.

Everett nods, his expression turning weary. “I was afraid you’d freak out and tell me to disown my parents again.”

“I still think you should do that. It’s not good for you to be around them. And I hate seeing you fight for their love like this.”

“Just for a couple more weeks,” he says, and it almost sounds like he’s asking for permission. “We graduate at the end of this month, and then it’ll all be over.”

I’m unsure if it’s morally right for me to deny him this. Sure, I want to tell him no, that he can’t go on like this. But it’s his parents and his life. He technically has the right to say what he pleases to them.

And plus, after my run-in with Jacob, I’m petrified that Everett will eventually see the evil in me too. That he’ll wake up one day and be able to taste the rot growing inside of me.

If it takes me supporting this backward plan for him to stay ignorant of my true nature, then so be it. I’ve been fooling him for over a decade now—certainly I can fool him for the rest of our lives.

And doesn’t that make me the cruelest of them all?

“Let’s go on a date tomorrow after our first round of finals,” Everett suggests, beaming at me.

“A date? But people will see us.”

“I doubt anyone important will be this close to campus, and if anyone does see us, it’ll be college students who don’t care,” he assures me.

Given how hard he’s been working to keep our relationship a secret from his father, he is very laid-back when it comes to other people. From being upset I wouldn’t dance with him at the Halloween party to this date, I would say he’s being reckless.

But I also really want to go on a date.

“Alright,” I concede. “A date, then.”

Everett fist bumps the air, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Yes!”

He’s adorable—the same golden retriever he’s always been. And one day, he’ll be free to be this breathtaking at all times, with me, out in the open.

And as long as I can keep a grip on my secrets and my anger, I may dare believe we can be like that forever.

Everett only needs to lie for a couple more weeks, but when I look ahead, I believe I’ll be a liar until the day I die.

I can only pray that he never finds out.

Chapter Twenty-One

Skylar Parish

December doesn’t get much colder than November here in Florida. Jeans and a long-sleeve thermal are more than enough to keep me comfortable as I hop out of my car and head toward the entrance of Angie’s Diner.

Last night, after Ashley left and everything was settled, Everett and I had a cozy night in, but my mind couldn’t settle.

I keep thinking of Jacob on a terrible loop—of how even he, someone who has not known me longer than a few months, could truly see me.

I’ve turned into a paranoid, anxious thing. With Everett going through all of this trouble and pain to give us our happily ever after, I feel tremendous pressure to make sure we get it.

But how can we, if someday I lash out at him and ruin it all?

It was easy before now; just being best friends gave me the right to be vague or pissy—I was never close enough to truly hurt him.

He may believe he was well within the field of my viciousness, but once you connect with someone so intimately, the possibilities only grow that much stronger.

The last thing I want to do is hurt Everett, and yet this malice inside of me is not biased. It will present itself to anyone, and apparently, despite my best efforts, at any time. I cannot control it the way I thought I could.

Jacob is a prime example.