“Yes. After he told me the whole truth, I’m certain of it.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that.”
Her eyes widened at me in shock. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Prez turned out to be an honest man. He was telling the truth about my mother. At least, in the Flores part.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I wish I’d known earlier. I’m sure things would have been different.”
“You’d have never believed me, Rex,” he said, sorrow lacing his tone.
Bitterness filled my mouth. “I guess we’ll never know.”
“I…I have to be honest with Laius, too.” She glanced at me, so pale as if she was about to faint.
“Have you told him what you were about to tell him yesterday?”
“I thought it’d be best if you were here, too.”
“I agree.” I took a seat. “It’s time we told him the truth about us.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Tirone and I—”
“We’re not just a teacher and student. We’re friends, too.” I finished for her.
Furore narrowed his gaze at me. “Friends?”
“Yes. It may sound like nothing for you, but it is inappropriate for many, especially for Jo. It’s been troubling her. You know she’s such a good girl.”
“What the fuck?”
“That’s the truth. We have this connection that started over literature and evolved from there. The first time we formed that bond was at the library. She was there, very engrossed in her reading, and I was desperate to find a certain book. She helped me find it. Then I realized something was troubling her so we started talking. The best talk I’ve ever had. Well, the first of many…with her.
“She listened with all her heart. She seemed to understand my internal conflicts. I’d rambled about you all the time, even though I told her you were dead. She, too, had several daddy issues that she shared, not in great detail, but she did confide in me, didn’t you, Jo?”
She just glared at me.
“Anyway, our talks weren’t solely taking place at school. We met outside. I took her for rides because she loved bikes, outside the city so no one would misinterpret our relationship. We talked over the phone, too, because Jo gets nightmares. I’m sure you know that, right?” I glanced between the two of them. “He knows about your nightmares?”
“What nightmares?” he asked through his teeth.
“Oh, he doesn’t know. Not very cool, Furore, but allow me to shed some light on your girlfriend. She gets nightmares about Madeline and the night of the attack.”
“Why haven’t you told me?” he asked her.
Her mouth parted and shut adorably. Then she shrugged. “We haven’t shared a bed long enough, and we’ve been having a lot of fights…”
“So he used to call you at night totalk?”
“Yes, Prez,” I answered for her. That was my narrative, and I controlled it. “We talked. It helped her sleep. She told me I banished the nightmares. Right, Jo?”
“Yes,” she hissed.
My lips stretched with a false smile. “Here you go. That’s the big secret.”
“No. That’s not the whole thing. There’s a lot more to it,” she said.