Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

MACI

T wo days later, I'm sitting in my bedroom, trying to draw, when my phone vibrates. I know what the text is going to say. After Lukas and Finn and all that madness— Sebastian?! —Lukas and I agreed we'd tell Kayla as soon as the arrests had been made. After two days of questioning, Sebastian and his co-conspirators are officially arrested.

Now, it's time to do the right thing. The text reads, I'm outside .

I swallow, forcing myself to push away from the desk, a chord of anxiety thrumming inside of me. There's far more of a chance this goes incredibly wrong than right. Lukas and I have had no alone time since the magic in the pool. He's been busy with the cops and issuing a statement to the press. I've been busy reliving what happened and dreading what will happen next.

Mom is waiting for me in the hallway. She's got her hands clasped in front of her. "Good luck," she says, then throws her arms around me. "Whatever happens, I'll be here, Maci. You don't have to go through this alone."

I swallow, clutching her tightly. Part of me wishes I could just stay here. "Thanks, Mom."

"I feel like we're driving to a funeral," I mutter as Lukas approaches Kayla's apartment.

"I know," Lukas says, running a hand through his hair. I take a moment to savor how he looks right now, with the sun glistening through the silver in his hair, his eyes intense as he watches the road—intense like he so often is. "But it could be a birth—the start of something, instead of the end. We don't know how she's going to react."

"Hmm," I mutter, not wanting to let my hopes flare. What's the point? The chances of her being completely okay with this are, if not zero, at least close buddies with zero.

"I want to kiss you again," Lukas says as he pulls into the apartment's parking lot, "but I won't let myself because it'll feel like we're doing it for the last time… and we're not. This is just the beginning."

"I wish I had your confidence." I've got my hands over my stomach as if I can somehow soothe the giant knot of nerves there. "She knows we're coming. Both of us?"

"Yeah, she knows," he replies, reaching over and taking my hand. "Let's do this. At least then, we'll know where we stand."

Or where we don't stand. We won't be standing on the solid foundation of a relationship. My maybe-boyfriend will become a never-boyfriend . Everything we've built—this confusing, incredible, sizzling, steamy, emotional bond we've created—will shatter.

"Just breathe," he says, tenderly touching my face. "Breathe, Maci."

I take his advice since I have forgotten to breathe. As we walk to the elevator, I put some space between us, forcing my breaths to come slowly. I try to think of how difficult this is for Lukas instead. I've got the support of Mom, at least. The support he would've had from Sebastian is obviously not there anymore. If Kayla turns on him, he's got nobody.

In the elevator, he lets out a heavy sigh. I touch his hand until he uncurls it, making it no longer a fist.

He smiles tightly at me. "One day, this will all seem so small to us," he says. "When Kayla has given us her blessing. When we're married. When we have kids. When?—"

The elevator doors open. We quickly separate from each other, though it's difficult. I want to keep holding him. I want to let him know I'm here for him for a little while longer until Kayla screams at us to end this, and she'll have every right to.

When we knock on Kayla's apartment door, I have to imagine my feet glued to the floor. Otherwise, I'll turn and run away, get back in the elevator, and maybe even flee the country. If I thought something like that at any other time, I'd discard it as extremely over the top, but I can't help it. That's how I feel. That's how significant this is. It's more important than what happened with Sebastian, even. I don't care if that's selfish.

Kayla opens the door, a frown on her lips. Something in her eyes tells me she suspects maybe not all of what we're going to tell her, but some of it, the general gist. Perhaps it's just the fact that Lukas and I are here together. Or maybe I can't stop the heat and the affection from bubbling up in me.

"Come on, then," she murmurs, entering the apartment.

Lukas glances at me, opens his mouth to say something—maybe a few words of support—but then closes it again. What can he say that's going to make this okay? What can he say to stop the guilt from chewing us to pieces?

We follow her into the living room. "Finn," Lukas says when he spots him standing behind the armchair. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"We're still dating," Kayla says. "Is that a problem? Are you really going to judge me for that?"