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“That’s crazy,” Charlie said in disbelief “Leo rides every day, he wouldn’t just lay his bike down like an idiot”

I held a smile back as I nodded “We’ll have to ask him how it happened once he’s awake”

“Hopefully, he’s okay,” Charlie said, pushing herself up to sit cross-legged “Gray already lost his mom I mean, he has Lily now, and I don’t think he even remembers, but still”

“I bet he’ll be okay,” Cec said, laying her hand on Charlie’s knee “He’d never leave Lily and Gray if he could help it”

Charlie looked at Cecilia curiously, and I i inside her head I knehere the conversation was headed before she spoke

“Why doesn’t anyone like you?” she asked Cecilia, her words blunt but not unkind “I thought it was because you liked Leo, but—” She gestured to ed “It can’t be that”

Cecilia huffed out an uncoht to the point, don’t you?”

“Sorry,” Charlie replied, chastised

“No, it’s fine,” Cecilia said She pulled her hand away froot more comfortable on the floor “So, you kno our family was attacked before you were born?”

“Yeah,” Charlie said, nodding “Monant with me”

“Right,” Cecilia replied “Well, I was a teenager, and I didn’t deal with it very well”

“You weren’t hurt though, right?”

“No,” Cecilia said

“Yes, she was,” I said at the saraze, right here on her shoulder”

“It barely bled,” Cecilia said “It was more like a burn, really”

“It scarred,” I countered “It’s why she has that tattoo on her arm”

“That’s not why” Cecilia widened her eyes at n to shut my mouth

“It’s there,” I said stubbornly, looking at Charlie “You just can’t really see it any”

“This is all beside the point,” Cecilia said stubbornly to Charlie “After all that happened, I didn’t react well I was…mean I was mean and hateful—that’s why they don’t like me”