Lie, Baby, Lie ✔️

chapter eighteen- mia

warning: adult content ahead ;)

Chapter Eighteen

Wade is turned away from me, but every once in awhile, I see his shoulders shake. Losing his brother broke him, even if he hides it well. He won't even look at me as he falls apart— too proud to let me see him cry.

I scoot across the bed, the sheets barely rustling under my weight. He lets me flip his palm over and slide my fingers between his. I squeeze his hand, listening to him take an uneven breath. Then, I press my lips to his bruised knuckles, one by one. He stops crying, growing quiet.

I don't think he realizes I'm crying too. My heart breaks for him.

I'm crying because Thomas is a murderer who tears families apart, I'm crying because up until I showed up, Wade was utterly alone in the world. I'm crying because he's stronger than I'll ever be.

"Hey," I whisper, my voice broken.

His cheeks are shining with tears. I take my sleeve and wipe them away gingerly, fearful of pressing too hard on the bruises healing on his cheek, his nose, his jaw. That fight was almost as bad as the one that happened the night we met, but this one hurt me more than any other fight has before.

"You scared me," I tell him. "I wish you could stop fighting like this."

"I can't," he mutters. It's the only thing he's said for several minutes.

"I know," I say. "I know."

Knowing he's gonna walk into the ring again, knowing he's probably gonna get hurt again is something that weighs down on my conscience. He senses this and takes his hand away so he can take my face between his palms.

"Mia," he breathes. "Nothing is gonna happen to me. I'm tough."

"You could die," I say, and my voice cracks. I'm about to cry all over again.

"I won't," he promises. "It's a dangerous business but I've made it this long, I'll try my hardest to be here for you. I would never leave you. You're all I have. Eres todo para mí. You're everything to me, Mia. Everything."

One tear traces down my cheek, but he wipes it away with his thumb.

"Don't cry," he says. "We've done enough of that tonight."

I laugh, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"You're so beautiful," he tells me. "God, Mia, you're so beautiful it makes me wish I had all the time in the world to be here with you."

The words are on the tip of my tongue, about to burst out because I can't hold them back anymore.

They're words Thomas would kill us both for if he heard them.

Because I've done the unthinkable.

My whole life in Purgatory, I've been in a cage, keeping everyone at a distance. Except Wade. I got too close to him.

I fell in love with him.

I almost said it earlier, but now I'm ready to. I want him to know. He has to know.

"I—" I stammer, trying to form a coherent thought. "Wade, I—"

Wade beats me to it. "Te amo, Mia," he says. "Te amo infinitamente. I love you, Mia. I love you endlessly."

"I love you," I say.

He releases my face, one hand bracing the nape of my neck like he does before he kisses me. I part my lips, and he closes the space between us. His lips form to mine out of habit, even though we've only stolen kisses when we can.