Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2)(70)
I have to leave Pine Grove. I have to leave Alabama, and I have to leave you. After tonight, that’s all completely clear to me. This whole situation is so effed up (hope you appreciate my discretion there), and it’s clear to me now that the only way to un-eff it up (do I get bonus points for that one?) is to take myself out of the equation. Without me, you, Bee, and Ryan can just be you, Bee, and Ryan. Not Paladins or Mages. People. With your own lives.
It’s like you said at that time at Cotillion practice—you want to be a good woman who chooses the right thing for everybody. Well, so do I. (Minus the woman part, obviously.)
Have a good life, Pres. I love you. Always.
D
I read the note two more times before closing the document and turning away from the computer.
Bee sat on the edge of the bed, watching me, her long blond hair caught in a braid over one shoulder.
“Well?” she asked.
“You did the right thing,” I said, even though the words hurt, hitting my heart like broken glass. “You were the Paladin I couldn’t be, I guess.”
At that, Bee stood up, her skirt swishing across her knees as she crossed the room to stand in front of me.
“No,” she said, shaking her head vehemently. “I wasn’t his girlfriend, so it was an easier choice to make.”
When I didn’t say anything, Bee sighed, folding her arms across her chest. “So what do we do now?” she asked me.
I got out of David’s chair, picking up his bag, but leaving the jump drive in his computer. When I walked out into the hall, Bee followed me, and we stood there, looking back into David’s room. There was a steady ache in my chest, and I had no idea if it was some residual Paladin thing—if David was in danger, but too far away for me to feel that normal crushing, burning sensation—or if it was just my heart breaking all over again.
I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and turned back to Bee.
“We go back to normal,” I said, letting the door click shut.
Bee gave a little snort at that, looking around at Saylor’s house, still strewn with books about Oracles and magic and history, all these weird, incongruous things tucked alongside the china figurines and ugly paintings.
“Can we do that?” she asked, and I made myself walk down the stairs, my eyes on the front door.
Have a good life, Pres.
“We’re going to try.”
Acknowledgments
WRITING A BOOK involves a fair amount of mayhem, and I’m lucky enough to have a bunch of fabulous mischief-makers on my side.
Thank you to my amazing editor, Ari Lewin, who gets me and my books so very well, has been such a champion for me and Harper, and never minds when I send her pictures of People I Find Attractive. You are a rock star, and I love making books with you!
Thanks, too, to the amazing Katherine Perkins, who is so smart I’m a little afraid of her, and whose notes on this book were insightful and encouraging and sharper than Harper’s favorite high heel.
This is the sixth book that I’ve been lucky enough to thank Holly Root for, and I could fill up six more books just explaining why I feel so fortunate to have her as my agent. Everyone should have a Ninja-Angel like Holly on her side.
Massive thanks to the people at Penguin who have done so much for me and my books and who make me so grateful to shout “TEAM FLIGHTLESS BIRD!” on the regular. Special thanks to Anna Jarzab and Elyse Marshall for being both amazing at their jobs and just amazing humans in general.
Thank you so much to all of my readers, especially the Rebel Belles on Tumblr who have embraced Harper, Bee, David, and Ryan and made such lovely things to go along with the books. Best Readers Ever!
For me, these books are about the power of ladies and the special bond that is Lady Friendship, and I am, as the kids say, #blessed to have so many wonderful ladies in my life. I have to single out one of those ladies in particular, Julia Brown, for all her encouragement when I was working on Miss Mayhem, and for the ridiculous amounts of Happy she’s brought into my life. Lady Bros 4-Ever.
As always, all the love to my family. Y’all are the reason I get to make up things for a living, but you’ve made the world I live in an even better place than all the worlds in my head. I love you.