I walk alone for hours. I wait for Dantae to call me, in a panic because I'm not home for dinner, but he never does. Neither does Anthony. Papa won't get home until 3 in the morning, and Mama doesn't get off work until tomorrow, so it practically doesn't matter what time I get home.

I stand outside the diner where Anthony and I used to do Sunday brunches. In the windowpane, I see my reflection, and I don't like it.

Maybe Dantae was right. Maybe I shouldn't be as angry as I am, but I can't help the rage that fills my stomach. I'm a telepath. I should've known that my brother and my best friend were secretly doing whatever thing they are doing. Two weeks now, but years of glances and crushes, and all of it secret from me.

I didn't even know that Anthony liked men. It's not his job to tell me, but I don't know. I would have preferred if he didn't hook up with my brother because when they split, I'm going to have to pick between the two of them.

And they will split, because (even though I didn't get a chance to read his mind) I know that Anthony thinks of my brother as a hoodlum. He has insulted my brother so deeply, and even though Dantae can forgive him, I can't. He's using my brother for something, and it makes me feel gross to think about it.

While I wish I had read Anthony's mind, I feel like the bad guy. For being mad at them. For reading Dantae's mind to get all the shitty details, even though I promised myself I wouldn't do that anymore. Why am I so full of shit all the time?

I text Peter.

Can you meet me on the Queensboro Bridge? I need help

Almost immediately, there is a text back.

Sure. I'll see you soon.

Since he responds so quickly, I head over to the bridge immediately. He's already there when I arrive, with a backpack on. I'm shocked that he made it so quickly, especially since I wanted a few minutes to compose myself.

"What's up?" there is a smile on his face, that slowly fades away. He cocks his head to the side, only slightly, and leans on the railing.

I shrug my shoulders. When I get to him, I lean against his shoulder. Butterflies fill my stomach, and I curse my heart for letting Peter have this effect on me. When I'm with him, everything seems at peace. I know it's not really fair, but he is my last safe place.

"Darce," he shifts, and I get tell from the way his body moves that he is looking down at me, but I don't dare move.

My body is frozen. I need to tell him. It's not negotiable, actually. The thought bubbles in my stomach, making me nauseous. I wonder if I'm going to hurl over the side of the bridge.

"I can't really tell you," because it's not my place to spread around Anthony and my brother's business. "But basically I just found out that Anthony and my brother have both been keeping secrets from me, and I'm kind of like, irrationally upset about it."

Peter doesn't move. "Well, is it a good secret or a bad secret?"

"Neither?" I'm not really sure which one it is if I'm totally honest. "My brother tried to manipulate me into calming down, and so I did something really nasty back. I'm just not used to people keeping secrets from me."

Peter nods. He leans his head against mine, so it is resting on top of me. I could stay like this for minutes, maybe hours, even though I would definitely develop a crook in my neck.

"What did you do?" he asks. "Although, I mean, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to say anything."

I bite my lip. Here comes the sinking feeling again. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone. Ever."

"I won't."

No, that's too quick of an answer. I read his mind, and he is telling the truth, but that is not enough. I sigh, and block out all his thoughts from my head. "I don't know why, and I don't know how, but I can read minds."

He pulls away from me, his eyes scanning my face. Even if he can't read minds, I hope he notices that I'm telling the truth.

"You can hear my thoughts?" his jaw is clamped tightly together, and his hands grip on to the railing until his knuckles turn white. There is no doubt in him, just fear in his eyes.

"No," I clarify, putting my hands out in front of me. "It's something I turn on. It's like, eavesdropping. You have to put your ear up to the door. It's not an accident. If that makes sense. Does that make sense?"

"How... when did this happen?"

"It's been my whole life," I tell him, trying my best to look him in the eyes, but not too intensely, in case he thinks I'm listening in. "I don't know how I discovered that I could do it, because I've always been able to do it."

"It's only like, what I'm thinking about right now?" Peter says.

I shake my head. "If I go looking for facts, I can find them. It's like they are locked away in file folders though, if they aren't on the surface. It takes a while to get through."

I wait for him to ask me to prove it by reading his mind, but he doesn't. And I'm grateful. I've never told anyone before, but he's the only person I have left. My relationship with Harry ended because I read his mind, and I didn't like the things I found there. With Peter, I don't want to ruin us like that.

"So, what did you do to your brother and Anthony?" Peter asks, looking down at me. I still can't figure out without reading his mind exactly what is running through it. Probably fear, as if I've been checking in on him this whole time. And I'd be lying if I said I never read his surface-level thoughts, but I've never dug in. "Did you read their minds?"

"Just my brother's," I tell Peter. "Which was really impolite of me. He seemed angry."

"Does he know?" Peter asks.

I shake my head. "Maybe? I haven't told him, but I don't know if he's caught on. You're the only one I've told. My brother and I keep a lot of secrets from each other."

The guilt washes over me, as I realize other than Anthony, we don't. He told me he was bisexual, and worried about our parents finding out, and I couldn't even tell him that I read minds.

It was probably a better call though. I don't want him to look at me the way Peter is looking at me. Like I'm a bull, and he's been thrown into a ring with me.

"I just, I feel guilty, and I'm angry at them," I pause, as I try to piece through the information. It still doesn't make sense to me. "And, I don't trust Anthony anymore. I'm worried that my brother is going to get hurt. I also don't care though, because he was a total jerk to me."

Peter nods, slowly. He's thinking, and I hate that I dart my eyes away to resist temptation.

"I'm not going to ask you if you've read my mind, even though I... you have." Peter bites down on the inside of his cheek, finally letting go of the bannister. "I just... have you ever thought about using your powers for good?"

I shrug my shoulders. I try my best. Using them for investigation has gotten a predator put behind bars, and put food on the table for my family. "I try. It's not like I'm Captain America, or something, you know? What could I do?"

Then, I think about the man I met twice, the one who thinks about killing all the time. There is something I could do to stop him if I was a masked vigilante. It would probably involve murder myself, since what evidence is there to collect? That could be something though. I could save a life.

"I think we are as good as our good deeds," Peter says. "If you can stop bad things, and you don't, aren't you the bad guy too?"

"Maybe," this isn't the direction I expected this conversation to go. I thought he would run away from me. This is why I haven't let myself be with him this whole time. I am bad, just like he says. It's not just stopping the bad things; I am the bad things.

"I mean, I wouldn't let you get away with murder, but there's not many things you could tell me about myself that would make me think you were a bad guy." Peter looks up at me. He grabs the straps of his backpack, adjusting them precariously. "You know, Darcy, I like you a lot."

My cheeks turn red.

"Thank you for telling me," he continues. "I uh... I wasn't expecting it."

"I understand if you need time," I tell him.

He shakes his head back and forth, over and over. "No... it's not that. I'm just... as long as you promise not to read my mind, I think we are okay. I still... sorry, just give me a second."

Peter takes in a long breath and sighs. He bites his bottom lip, exhaling in what is almost a laugh. "Darcy, I still want to be with you. Or, like, I don't know. I like you. A little. A lot."

My breath is stolen from me. I feel my entire body freeze. All of the words are stolen from me, and they blow away in the breeze.

"Are you, shit," Peter says, and I smile as he swears. "Sorry, I thought that-"

"I want to be with you too," I tell him, finally admitting it.

"Tomorrow," he smiles. "My place."

I nod. Tomorrow.

~~~~~

I know it's been a hot minute, but I've been thinking about this book a lot. And I like this chapter. I'm trying to cut down the story because there are way too many chapters left, but we will see. Let me know what you think in the comments. Encouragement is REALLY what motivates me to write this book.

Thanks so much and I will see you soon.