Chapter 53

The truth or dare game had been a desperate attempt to inject life into the sterile party, a last-ditch effort to feel something, anything, besides the gnawing emptiness. And when Nico, confessed what seemed to be his feelings in that hushed, unexpected moment, the dam holding back my emotions broke.

Nico froze, the shock reverberating through him, a tremor that ran deeper than mere surprise. "Let's go outside," Nico blurted, his voice rough with nerves. "Just for a minute. It's getting hot in here."

I stared at him long and hard, trying to read his expression. Of course I wanted to be civil, I needed to be civil, I wasn’t going to blurt my desperation. I hesitated "It's my birthday, Nico. Celebrants don't abandon the ship." But the sincerity in his voice, the desperation to escape the suffocating heat of the crowd, tugged at my heart. "I should stay," I murmured a protest that sounded more like surrender.

"It won't take long," Nico promised, his voice a threadbare lifeline. "Just...