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"Don’t you dare talk about ives you a free pass to be a raging assle? It doesn’t You’re not the only person who knows loss"

He’d hit a nerve Tyler was breathing heavily now, his fists clenched "Shut up, Merrick"

"No, you shut up You want to hate us because of e are? Fine Hate us Punch me, burn me, call the Guides, whatever But I know the truth I knohat you are I knohat you can do"

"You don’t know anything"

Nick knew Tyler was a breath away fro up to Gabriel had changed so in him For the better, for the worse, he had no idea But just like Ada to knohat Nick wanted, Tyler’s presence was like a constant jab, over and over again

And Nick wanted It To stop

He leaned forward, holding Tyler’s gaze "I know you’re probably scared to death that the wrong person is going to find out you’re just as cursed as the big, bad Merricks Guess it’d be pretty hard to cry to Moger the to do it to us for years"

"I’ve never killed anyone," Tyler hissed

"Hoe know?" said Nick "It’s not like you don’t spend every waking moment consumed by hate God, for all we know, you could have been behind the fire at Seth Ramsey’s--"

Nick broke off and stopped short "Holy shit"

The fire at Seth Rao It had killed Seth’s parents

And Nick’s

"Shut up!" Tyler yelled His eyes ide and panicked, his expression fierce "Shut the fk up, Merrick I didn’t start that fire"

Nick almost couldn’t breathe He couldn’t even identify this eain "It was you You started it Not Gabriel"

"Wrong," said Tyler He was shaking his head fiercely

"Wrong"

"I’ It was you"

"It was both of us," he cried "Don’t you get it? Just like last night It was both"

Nick stared at him

Tyler climbed down froone still in thethey’d been watching

Quinn glanced between Nick and Tyler, and finally ran after Tyler The front door to the studio sla, unsure where his emotions wanted to settle

He was very aware of Adam’s eyes still on him

Nick looked at him He couldn’t speak He wasn’t sure what he would say

"So," Adaanation "More secrets, huh?"

CHAPTER 29

Quinn caught up to Tyler in the parking lot There were only two vehicles left: his truck, and a black sedan across the lot that sorabbed Tyler’s arm before he could jump in his truck and take off

She expected hie and shove her away, but he didn’t He just stopped He didn’t look at her

"Are you okay?" she said softly

"No" His voice sounded thick

"Is what he said true?" she said "The fire that killed his parents--did you--"

"I don’t know" He turned to look at her, and where she expected to find rage and fury, his expression only offered torment "I don’t know, Quinn I was sixteen years old My sister was dead I hated Michael Merrick with everything I don’t--"

His voice broke, but he caught it "Gabriel Merrick hated us, too They all did I don’t know for sure which one of us started it But I knoasn’t the only one I didn’t have that kind of power, the way the whole house went up in a flash Not then"

"Butbut you’ve called the Guides against the Merricks

You’ve tried to have them killed You stood in your kitchen and told me you’ve never hurt anyone with your power What was that about?"

Now she got the fury "What was I supposed to do?" he snapped "My parents wanted to kill them for what they’d done to Euys I’et cake’ Do you have any idea what it was like forthe Guides to coht have played a part in killing my best friend’s parents? Do you have any idea?"

"No" She wet her lips "I don’t" She paused "But you kept hurting the after them You went after Becca!

You kept--"

"Because I had to!" he exploded "Because that’s what everyone expected! Don’t you get it? They killed ht they killed Seth’s parents I had to hate them"

"Or else everyone would have hated you"

A cool hipped through the parking lot, re was heavy

"Yeah," he finally said

She couldn’t reconcile this in her head The sweet things he’d whispered to her this , the way he’d helped her with her own insane faotten in her face and made her confront her own fears about herself

And then thisthis hate borne of nothing but selfish fear

"You could stop it," she said "You could juststop"

"I can’t Quinn, you don’t--"

"Didn’t you pinpeople away? That people would help ive them the chance? The sad, sorry truth is that the Merricks would probably help you if you weren’t so determined to be an assle"

"I don’t want their help, Quinn"

"So you’re just going to keep on being ignorantwhy, exactly?"

The sarcasm was out before she could stop it Tyler’s face shut down, chasing away any enorant This isto stay alive"