I tipped my head and tucked her golden hair behind her ear. “I’m glad you did and I’m sorry for being such an asshole before.”
Her chuckle was dry and breathy. “You had every right to be. I lied to you. And you’re the only person who’s ever cared enough to figure out why.” She licked her bottom lip. “It worries me that you did, but it’s also nice to be with someone who doesn’t just settle for the shallow. Who doesn’t just ignore all the lies, because all they really want from me is sex or popularity.” Guilt crested over her features. I wondered if she was thinking of Tori, but before I could ask, she sniffed and shook her head. “I hope you understand why I’ve had to do what I’ve done.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I get it. I just can’t believe you’ve been living like this since you were 13.” I waved my hand around the apartment.
She ignored my sympathy, a thought occurring to her. A thought which made her forehead wrinkle and her body shift away from me. “How’d you find out all that stuff about me? Who’d you ask? Who’d you talk to? How did you know?”
I placed my finger on her lips, gently silencing her. I wasn’t sure how much to say. I didn’t want to scare her. She already looked like she was about to be hit by a bus.
I licked my lips and ran my hand through my hair. “I saw a picture of you in my cousin’s yearbook. He goes to Lowell High.” I glanced at her and watched the way her eyebrows flickered with an anguished frown.
“The yearbook? How’d they get a photo of me?”
“It was on one of those montage pages. You weren’t looking at the camera. You probably had no idea the photo was even being taken.”
Her features dented with worry as she rubbed her chin.
“Luke—”
“Who’s Luke?”
“My cousin.” My insides started to thrum as I watched her panic start to fester. Her whole body was tense and alert. She reminded me of a deer who’d just heard a twig snap behind her. She was getting ready to bolt. I kept my voice gentle and smooth. “Luke told me about how you dated Miles.”
“But I didn’t want to.”
“I know.” I rubbed her back.
“How did you even recognize me? Everyone at Lowell knew me as Riley.”
“I knew it was you. Sure, your hair was different, but I recognized the look on your face. You get it sometimes when you’re trying to block out the world, a kind of distant look in your eye. I just knew it was you.”
Her blue gaze met mine, telling me she loved that I really saw her, but it fluttered back to the floor as her shaking fingers scratched the back of her neck.
Did I dare tell her the rest?
“So, how did you find out about Taylor and Peyton?” She choked out the last word.
“Well, I just had to find out more, so I went into San Francisco yesterday to see if I could talk to some other Lowell High students. I was trying to track down Miles’ younger brother.”
“James.”
I nodded. “But I couldn’t find him and ended up meeting up with some other guys, and a student from Balboa High thought he recognized your photo.”
“You showed my picture around?” Her voice hitched.
“Only to a few.” I rubbed her back, trying to settle her. “None of them were certain it was you, they just told me a few stories.”
She sat away from me, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “What if they talk, Zach? What if they start figuring it out?”
“They won’t. They all told their stories and went back to life as normal.”
“Did you tell them who you were? Did you say where you were from?” She stood up, crossing her arms over her chest.
“My name may have been mentioned, I can’t remember, but I definitely didn’t say where I was from. They weren’t interested in me, they just wanted to tell me stories about wild-child Taylor and the day Miles got attack—”
“Stop it!” Stress was radiating from her in pulsing waves that nearly knocked me over. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” She scrambled off the bed.
“Dani it’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that. I’ve robbed and cheated these people. What if they come after me?” Her eyes sizzled with panic as another thought brandished her brain, but she pressed her lips together and kept it in.
“I seriously don’t think they will.”
“But you don’t know that, Zach.”
She bit her lip, blinking rapidly at fresh tears. I gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down onto the bed. “You’re right, I don’t know for sure and I’m sorry for doing all this behind your back. But I had to know who you were.”
“No, you don’t have to know.” She shook her head, wriggling her wrist free. “You know Dani and that’s enough.”
“It’s not enough,” I whispered. “I want to help you. I want to get you out of this mess.”
“I can’t just get out, Zach, it doesn’t work like that.” She buried her face in her hands. “It just keeps catching up with me,” she muttered to herself. Her fingers dug into her hair, squeezing her scalp until I thought she might hurt herself.
“Dani.” I reached for her back, but she bolted away from me, her eyes wild and bright as she turned to face me.