Clarissa's POV

Today was our first day home after the fire had almost burnt it to the ground. I was happy to be home and to celebrate, my family was having a party tonight.

Autumn smiles as she points to the dress in front of me.

“I think you have to go to the party in that dress”

“Wouldn’t it be scandalous if I wore something so short?” I ask her.

I always tried not to do things that would get me on the front cover of a magazine. I wanted to try my best to stay out of trouble. I knew that liking Damon alone could get me into more trouble than I was prepared for.

“You’re going to be around your entire family. To hell with what any idiot has to say about your outfit. It’s your body; if you want to wear it, go right ahead.” She tells me.

I smiled; I had to agree with her. It should be my choice. And I loved the silver dress that sparkled under the yellow lights above it.

“I told the guys we would meet them after the party begins,” Autumn tells me. “I want everyone to be surprised when they see us. Well, mainly you. I want them to be surprised when they see you and how beautiful you look. I’ve made some calls, and I have a hairdresser and a makeup artist on their way to dress you up.”

Something about how she said those words to me made me feel like she had an idea that I was in love with Damon.

That frightened me.

I never wanted anyone to know how much he meant to me.

“is something wrong?” She asks me; she must have noticed the fear in my eyes.

I shook my head, “I’ve never really known how to do my makeup.”

She grins, “well, it’s good that I hired someone. You don’t have to worry about that at all. Everything is already taken care of. I’ve thought of everything to make this night perfect for us.”

I laugh, “you have thought about everything, haven’t you?”

She nods as we make our way back into my room.

Autumn gets dressed first. The white dress looked amazing on her. But anything looked beautiful on Autumn; she had the kind of face and body to make the ugliest dress look gorgeous.

Not that this dress was ugly, it was absolutely stunning, like her.

She helps me get dressed next. The makeup artist enters the room with the hairdresser, and they both work their magic.

“I think you are going to have a hard time tonight,” Autumn says as we exit the room after we are both finished.

“Why?” I ask, confused.

“Your stepbrothers will have to send away many guys who will try to fl!rt with you tonight. You know they tend to get a little overprotective when it comes to you, especially Damon.”

I swallow at the mention of Damon, I was always looking forward to him being overprotective.

It didn’t make me feel uncomfortable or unhappy; the exact opposite.

But why did Autumn mention Damon out of everyone else?

It was true that he was the most protective when it came to me, but I didn’t think that she would notice something like that.

Could I be right all along? Did she know that I was in love with him?

I had to find out. Unlike many others, I trusted Autumn. I wouldn’t mind her knowing the truth even though it terrified me.

My hands shook as I mustered up the courage to ask her whether or not she knew the truth.

“Do you know the truth?” I whisper.

There was no point trying to sneak it out of her. I

wanted to ask her directly.

“The truth?” She asks, startled by my question.

“About what exactly?”

I can tell she already knows what I’m talking about, but she doesn’t want to startle me.

“About my feelings for someone,” I say. “I’ve been trying to keep it hidden because I know how wrong it is, but I think you’ve been hinting that you know the truth to me for the entire day now.”

She sighs, “you picked up on it. It is true. I do know the truth about your feelings for Damon.”

My cheeks are red at her confession; I’m the one that asked the question but hearing her say it aloud was alarming to me. It was the first time anyone had said those words to me.

She was the first person I was sharing my dark secret with, and it made me feel vulnerable. At the same time, I felt relieved to know that someone else knew how I felt about him and she was someone that I could trust.

“I promise that I won’t tell anyone. Not even Atticus. This is something he needs to hear from you. I won’t tell him even though we promised each other not to have any secrets between us. I think he would understand why I kept this from him.” She assured me.

“You can trust me, Clarissa. I know this isn’t something you want others to know about,”

I was happy that she was so considerate to keep it from him. I wasn’t prepared for my family members to know the truth. I couldn’t imagine what Atticus would think of me if he ever found out.

“How did you learn about my feelings for him?” l ask her. “I’ve been trying to hide it since my feelings for him began. I’ve managed to keep it hidden for so long. What made you notice?”

I had to know never to make the same mistake again. If she could find out, anyone else could if they paid good attention to me.

“Remember that day when Atticus made me sleep in your room?” She asks me.

I nod; I remember that night quite well. Atticus had asked me to keep her in my room. I remember how troubled he’d looked that night. I remember wanting to help him with whatever had him so uneasy.

“I’m still sorry about that day.” She apologizes.

“I saw something that I shouldn’t have seen the morning after when I woke up. I was able to see a tattoo. And I think you know what that tattoo was.”

I cover my mouth with my hand. Of course, I knew what she was speaking about. Two years ago, for my sixteenth birthday, I did something without thinking clearly.

I got a tattoo with his name on my left side ass. It was right at the center. 'Damon'.

That’s what the tattoo was. I knew it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I was so in love with him that I wanted his name on my body, anything that made me feel closer to him.

I remember staring at it in the mirror every day since the day I’d gotten it done. I was so happy. But it was a dumb decision. I’d stopped wearing revealing bathing suits to the pool or the beach ever since then.

I always had to keep it hidden from everyone

because I knew they would find out the truth the moment that they saw it, just like Autumn had found out the truth just by seeing it.

I don’t know what I was thinking back then. I was thinking irrationally.

How did I explain this to Autumn?

She must think that I’m crazy!