The car door opens behind me, and I hear her footsteps crunching over gravel. She comes up beside me and wraps her arms around my shoulders from behind, steady and warm.
“You can,” she says, her voice low and sure. “Josie, you are so strong.”
I shake my head, tears streaming down my cheeks. “It’s twins, Maya. Two. And he doesn’t even... he doesn’t want me. He picked her. He barely even sees me now, and I’m carrying his... his...babies.”
“I know,” she whispers, pulling me tighter against her. “I know.”
“It hurts,” I sob. “It hurts so much I can’t breathe.”
She holds me through it. Through the shaking and the crying and the raw, gutted emptiness that I can’t seem to fill. I cry like Ihaven’t cried in years, even though I feel like I have breakdowns all the time lately. It’s loud and messy and real. Like I’ve finally given up pretending I’m okay.
Because I’m not.
I’m not okay.
I’m terrified. I’m shattered. I’m so alone.
And worse than that, I loved him. I let him in. I gave him everything. And now I’m standing on the side of the road with my heart in pieces and two lives growing inside me.
“I don’t even know where to go from here,” I whisper, once the tears slow down. “How do I start?”
Maya steps beside me, leaning on the rail like I am, looking out at the valley below. Her voice is calm, certain.
“One breath at a time. One day at a time. And when it gets too hard, you lean on the people who love you. Even when it’s messy. Even when you don’t know what comes next. And maybe just tell Knox. Forget about Savannah. Give him a chance and see.”
I wipe my face with my sleeve. My body feels heavy. My heart aches in a way I didn’t know was possible.
But I’m still standing.
Somehow, I’m still here.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Knox
The second I see her,my stomach drops.
Savannah’s at the host stand, flipping through the reservation book like she works here. She’s all fake smiles and glossy charm, chatting up the new server like she didn’t just light a match to my life earlier this week.
I cross the dining room in five long strides, jaw tight. “Savannah.”
She turns, beaming like this is a social call. “Knox. Wow, you really should smile more. Your forehead’s gonna crack.”
“You can’t keep coming in here like this.”
She blinks, all innocence. “Why? I’m only saying hi. Looks busier than usual. You’re welcome, by the way.”
I plant a hand on the counter between us. “Don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Pretend this is about the restaurant,” I snap. “I haven’t reacted to whatever littlegameyou’re playing, but I can’t have you here all day long.”
She frowns, like I’ve hurt her feelings. “You hadherhere.”
I roll my eyes. “Josieworkshere.”
She tilts her head, faux sympathetic. “That’s adorable. You still think you can protect her. Like you protected me, remember?”
