Me: You should’ve asked me that back in Miami, you absolute walnut. And what do you mean he makes you sign an NDA?
Raiyne: Yup, wants to make sure I keep my mouth shut and not sue him if I had gotten hurt.
Me:(rolls eyes)
Raiyne: Now tell me the whole story.
Me: I had a panic attack—for reasons—and accidentally pushed him down the stairs.
Raiyne: Accidentally?
Me: Hello, panic attack. Did you even read? And he had me locked in a closet at the top of the stairs.
Me: I didn’t even realize what I was doing.
Raiyne: Shit. I’m sorry, Merci. I fuckedup.
Me: Yeah, no shit.
Raiyne: Let me make it up to you.
Me: Unless you're offering to let me stab you in the dick, I'm not interested.
Raiyne: God, I missed your bitchy ass.
Me: Fuck off and die.
Raiyne: Please forgive me.
Me: Maybe . . . I’ll think about it.
I toss my phone aside, my chest tight. I’d never told him about my past and we weren’t exactly BFFs, just friends. That’s why I can’t hate Raiyne.
Not completely.
My brows furrow. Mom decided it was best to be vague with what they shared with Zach. But did they at least mention my problems with closed spaces? He might not have thrown me into the closet if he knew.
Or maybe he still would have.
I rub my hands over my face. Fuck. These half-truths . . . or omissions . . . they’ve caused so much shit. But there’s no guarantee anything would’ve been different either.
As mad as I want to be at Zach, I do understand where he’s coming from. He didn’t sign up to have a stepbrother—or any type of brother—especially one with extreme claustrophobia. And he definitely didn’t sign up to have the person who’d just moved into his house shove him down the stairs and nearly kill him.
God, this is so complicated. Things are so much easier when they’re black and white. But hello, trauma. You thrive in shades of gray, fuck you very much.
I want to scream and laugh in equal measure.
Tears fall as I stare up at the ceiling. Opening up to my mom wasn’t so bad. I could do the same with Zach. Maybe it would help him understand that night truly was an accident and give him a different perspective.
We could possibly move on. I take a shuddering breath. But that also means I have to do the one simple thing that never crossed my mind throughout all of this.
I never fucking apologized to him.
Sorry might not mean much, but it’s a start. I just hope he’ll listen.
Chapter 9
Zach
