Chapter 8

Ethan strode forward, his arm possessively encircling my shoulders. The gesture surprised me—usually, he blushed at any proximity. Now, right in front of Glen, he displayed his claim without reservation. Glen's face instantly drained of color. "N-no," he stammered, denying it, "you misheard." My gaze fell on Ethan's hand where it rested on my shoulder. A long scar ran across the back, gleaming silver-white in the moonlight. Fragments of memory clicked into place—the hand reaching for me in that terrible pit last year bore the same scar. "That night... it was you?" My voice trembled. Ethan's Adam's apple bobbed. "I feared bringing it up might embarrass you." His eyes flickered, seemingly reluctant to recall that night we both wished to forget. So that was it. He’d known me since childhood but had witnessed me at my most vulnerable moment. And Glen? Not only cowardly, but brazen enough to steal the credit for saving me. "Disgusting," I spat at Glen, my voice low but cuttingly clea