“No one told you?”

“Told me what?”

Scowling, she stands. “I swear half the world’s problems would be solved if people would just learn to communicate—”

“Sawyer,” I cut in before she goes off on a tangent. “Tell me what you know.”

She nods. “Right. Okay…um…so…in a nutshell, Tommy set you up to take the fall for the shitty thing he did. At least that’s my interpretation of it.” She starts pacing back and forth. “From what I understand, Tommy brought Liam to the closet in the middle of the dance…because he wanted him to see you and Jace making out. And then when Liam ran back to the gym crying…he started picking on him in front of everyone.”

I bolt up. “What?”

That’s not a shitty thing to do, that’s an evil thing to do.

She winces. “It gets worse.”

My stomach coils. “How much worse?”

She stops pacing. “Evidently when Jace confronted Tommy about it a few days after Liam’s passing, Tommy told him you came up with a plan to use Liam to hurt Jace because he took Britney to the dance.”

Outrage roots me to the spot. “That lying motherfucker.”

I went with Liam to the dance because he was my friend, not to get back at Jace. And I certainly would never devise a plan to hurt either of them.

“Cole said Tommy was very convincing. Even he believed it…until recently.” Sawyer wrings her hands. “I imagine it was a difficult time for all of them. Grief can make it hard to see the forest through the trees.”

Don’t I know it.

“I guess that explains why Jace hates me so much.”

Being near me was the equivalent of ripping pieces of his heart out over and over again.

No wonder he looked so miserable after we…

It hurts to breathe again. “They all think I…” Helplessness jams in my throat. “I didn’t hurt Liam on purpose.”

“I know.”

“You do, but they don’t. And I have no idea how to prove it when they all believe Tommy’s story and I wasn’t here to defend myself.”

Her face perks up. “Who says you can’t do it now?”

“I have no idea how that’s possible after all this time.”

“I get what you’re saying, but…” I can see the proverbial wheels in her head turning. “Wait…Tommy doesn’t know you know the truth, right?”

Given he obviously lied to me about Liam’s death, I’m gonna go with no. “Nope. Not to my knowledge.”

She chews on her bottom lip. “And the last time you saw each other was at the marina when you ended things with him?”

I’m not sure what she’s getting at, but I trust her, so I’ll follow the bouncing balls. “Technically it was at the football game when Jace kicked his ass, but I don’t think he saw me—”

“That’s perfect.”

She starts pacing again.

“Uh…Sawyer. Would you mind filling me in here?”

She holds up a finger. “Give me a second.”

A moment later she stops pacing and sighs.

I’m not sure what to make of her expression when she looks at me.

“I’m not gonna lie to you. My idea is totally fucked up, gross…and all kinds of wrong, but it will give you tangible proof.”

The suspense is killing me. “I’m all ears. Tell me what I have to do.”

“Go to the hospital and seduce Tommy.”

Yup, it’s official. She’s lost her mind. “Say what now?”

“Tommy’s obsessed with you. I bet if you go there and work your magic…you can get him to confess and record it on your phone.”

I have no idea what kind of magic she’s referring to, but I’m willing to do anything at this point, so it’s worth a shot.

I grab my purse off the ground. “You really think it will be that easy?”

“Are you kidding?” She zips a finger up and down. “I’ve seen what you’re working with under that. Trust me, it will be a piece of cake.” She tugs on my arm. “We should go before visiting hours are over.”

“Wait.”

Bending down, I run my thumb across Liam’s name.

I’m so sorry I hurt you.

I turn to walk away, but a blue butterfly lands on my nose.

Sawyer smiles. “My nanna used to tell me butterflies appear when angels are near.”

Emotion clogs my throat as the butterfly flaps its wings and flutters over to Liam’s headstone.

Her nanna was right.

Chapter 44

Dylan

“Judging by how long you were in there, I’m guessing it worked?” Sawyer says as I slip out the door.

I shudder. “Yup.”

She was right, it really was that easy to get Tommy to spill the beans once I convinced him I hated Jace and turned on the…charm.

The painkillers he was high on might have also helped.

Not to mention his very limited range of motion given one of his legs is in traction and there’s a cast on his arm.

Sawyer eyes me cautiously. “Ready to go?”

I suppress another shudder as I slide my phone into the pocket of my jeans. “Definitely.”

Now that I have my proof, the only thing left to do is send it to Jace.

On second thought.

My steps come to a halt. “Would you mind dropping me off at the bakery?”

“Sure. I didn’t know you had work tonight.”

“I don’t. I have to ask Mrs. Dickinson for a favor.”

Thanks to Mrs. Dickinson insisting on teaching me how to bake for the last five hours, it’s almost midnight by the time I get to Jace’s house.

Heart bursting out of my chest, I place the flash drive and the small basket of kachori on his porch.

There’s nothing I can say or do to erase his pain, and I know we can never be together given everything that’s come to the surface.

But I want Jace to know that the girl he stomped kachori with on the playground when we were eleven…

Will always love him.

With every broken, jagged piece of her heart.

Chapter 45

Jace

“You’ve been staring at that basket of kachori and sulking for two days now,” Cole states as he barges through my bedroom door.

I glare at him. “Ever heard of knock—”

“Wow, would you look at that? He’s alive,” Oakley shouts.

Fucking hell. I’m not in the mood for this shit.

Swiveling in my computer chair, I face them. “Get out. Both of you.”

Hurt flashes in Oakley’s eyes before they narrow. “Fuck you, prick. You haven’t answered any of my phone calls and you haven’t been at school all week.” He wags a finger at me. “I demand an explanation.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Last I checked, my mother was dead.” Raising my middle finger, I turn my chair back around. “Unless you’re feeding or fucking me, I don’t owe you shit.”