25

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ISABELLA

Addy and I take our time, enjoying our meal before rushing back home. We get back before the guys, but they aren't far behind.

When Miles walks in the door, I smile. "Hey," I breathe, wrapping my arms around his body. He does the same, squishing my face against his chest.

After a good minute of embracing, he pulls away. "Hello."

I run both of my hands through his tousled hair. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yes." He nods enthusiastically. We retreat onto the patio for privacy, perching ourselves on the couch. For a moment, we admire the beach view in each other's company. The breeze from the ocean feels nice on my skin. I take my time, enjoying the moment before it's over.

"So, Beauty," he runs his hands over my legs that are lying over his lap, "how was your day with Addy?"

"It was good," I say, and ask about his. We small talk, laughing over little things. Once the laughter dies down and he quietly settles in, he cozies up beside me. His enormous arms encompass me, and I nestle my nose into the crook of his neck.

I'm not sure why I'm nervous to tell him about the video, but my heart is pounding.

"Miles, something else happened today," I say, and he looks down at me. "Do not say a word until I'm finished talking, please."

He tries sitting up to get a better look at me, but I don't budge. I keep my arms snug around him.

"There was a video posted today online by Noel. It was the video from the library."

As I expected, Miles' body goes ridged. Although I can't see his face, I know it falters.

"I'm telling you this because you should know." I finally look up, cupping his face. "But I also want to remind you I have forgiven you. This is on Noel, not you." He opens his mouth to speak, and I interrupt him, repeating one more time."I have forgiven you already."

He sits up abruptly. "Are you fucking serious?"

I nod.

"We need to go home so I can sort this out."

I immediately grab his hand, pulling him back on the couch. "We're not going home because of this. Don't give him have the satisfaction of ruining our vacation. We will enjoy the rest of our trip and leave when we are supposed to. We can sort it out after."

His eyes search mine. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head. Who would've thought Miles was such an empath? And I love how he wants to stand up for me, but I can stand up for myself.

Out of nowhere, he holds my face in his big hands and rests his forehead against mine. "Okay."

Telling Miles about the video went much better than expected. He didn't bring it up again, but I could tell it was still on his mind by his demeanor. So, I tried my best to distract his thoughts.

Now we're lying on our makeshift bed on the balcony.

"Miles?" I say as a light breeze blows past my bare arms. I involuntarily snuggle closer to him and he squeezes me tighter in response. My lips curl upward at his gesture.

"Yes?"

"What is the gala like?" I question. "For your dad's company."

He shifts beside me. "Well, it's very extravagant. It's a bunch of old people in designer clothes drinking expensive champagne and schmoozing each other. There will be dancing and eating. Oh, and a lot—I mean a lot—of business talk." He looks at me. "My dad likes to go over the top."

"Well, at least we will have each other." I smile, trying to say something optimistic.

He laughs and kisses my head. "Yes."

"I'm excited to meet your parents." I poke his side playfully, but his smile fades instead of growing wider. I notice this and gently sit up to face him.

His eyes look sad but somehow emotionless at the same time. His lips droop downwards, and his body slightly hunches over, like someone just sucked the life right out of him.

"Are you okay?" I whisper, not wanting to wake a sleeping lion.

He doesn't respond.

Okay, maybe I already have awakened it.

"We don't have to talk about it," I reassure him and return to my spot on the bed. I run my fingers through his hair, trying to ease him.

There are moments where I feel like I don't know Miles at all, like right now. We haven't talked much about our families; I think we both know that's treacherous territory.

"My mom," he starts, causing my hand to stop moving.

"Miles, you don't have to—"

A sad smile forms on his lips as he stares up into the night sky. "I was a mistake. My mom and dad weren't married yet when she got pregnant with me. But when I was born, they loved and cared for me unconditionally. My childhood was normal until my eighth birthday. That's when all the hospital visits started. I thought little of it because I was so young." He scoffs lightly to himself. "My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's."

I don't speak.

"She was extremely young, and I watched her slowly forget everything. It started with small things, like forgetting where things were around the house, or what time to come to pick me up from sports practices. Then of course it got worse, and so did my dad. He absolutely loved my mom, so watching her die slowly changed him. He started distancing himself and became cold and rude and not my dad."

A smile appears on his face. "But thankfully my mom had a home nurse that stayed with us all of my childhood. Her name is Millie, I consider her a second mother. She was always there for me, you know, helping me cope with everything."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah." He finally looks at me. "You'll meet her at the gala."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"She is excited too." He smiles and my heart skips a beat.

"She knows about me?"

He tells me of course she does, and I bite my lip. I look away so he doesn't see my smile and I resume massaging his head. We sit there in comfortable silence.

"You know my mom is still alive."

I feel my breathing come to a halt when those words leave Miles' mouth.

"I don't know how much longer she has left. But the moment she didn't recognize me was the moment she passed away. Now she is just a shell that looks like my mother." He shrugs his shoulders.

I feel guilty for assuming Miles had a perfect life. For assuming I was the only one who had lost a parent, and that he couldn't possibly know how I feel. But Miles watched and still watches his mother deteriorate more every day. At least I know my father is in a better place, not suffering.

I was so wrong about Miles.

So wrong.

✤

"I'm sad we're already leaving tomorrow," Addy says as the four of us walk the boardwalk, eating ice cream. We spent our last night at the fair, eating fried food and riding rides that sound like they could fall apart any minute.

"We'll just have to come back during our next break."

"I'm down," Jasper chimes in.

Miles is finally back to normal. Most likely because word got around to college staff about Noel's video. They forced him to take it down and suspended him. I didn't want to make it a big deal over the situation, but I guess he was bound to get caught.
However, according to the guys, that is not enough punishment.

"Can we go on that thing?" Addy points to a big metal machine that slingshots people into the air, her dirty blond hair bouncing up and down with her.

The rest of us glance at each other.

"I'm not!" I declare first.

"I'm not!" Miles shouts next, right as Jasper's mouth opens.

A big grin fills Addy's face, and her eyebrows furrow deviously as she eyes Jasper. "Looks like you're coming with me."

While she is dragging poor Jasper toward their death sentence, Miles and I go on the Ferris Wheel, something a little safer.

"Miles, please, don't rock the cart," I plead as he pulls the safety bar over us, locking it in place.

He turns to me with an impish smirk. "I won't."

I grip the metal bar as we jerk forward. Instantly, my vision fills with the beautiful deep blue ocean illuminated by the glowing moon. I turn towards Miles, who is already staring at me.

"You know it's not nice to stare, sir," I say, elbowing him.

"My sorry, I just like the view."

While smiling, the wind picks up, tossing my hair about. Miles reaches over and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His hand moves down to cup my cheek.

Hesitantly, our eyes meet. But this time, there's a completely different look in them.

"You're the best thing that's happened to me," he says. "I know that's cheesy, but I mean it."

I smile, and warmth bubbles through me, masking the cool breeze. "You're the best thing that's happened to me too, Miles."

He leans forward, pausing before closing the remaining space between our lips. They move rhythmically, and all the chatter and screams from the fair seem to fade away as if we are the only two on the ride.

His tongue parts my lips, invading my mouth. I slide closer, which causes the cart to rock. It snaps me out of my daze, and I grip the bar for support. Miles burst out laughing, and I smack his arm.

The ride stops halfway to the top, and the swinging subsides.

"Bell," he says.

"Yes?"

"I'm so glad I met you and you forgave me."

My heart halts in my chest, and butterflies erupt in my stomach like a swarm of bees dancing around their hive. "I'm so glad I met you too, Miles."

The Ferris wheel jerks forward, but Miles and I are still lost in our own world.

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QOTD: If you could hop into any book, which book would you place yourself in?

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