“Blair?”
“Yeah, it’s—”
A throat clears loudly and my gaze lifts to the gate at the same time Zane’s does, both of us freezing. “Dad?” Zane whispers, while I suck in a breath, my eyes locked on the menacing gaze staring back at us.
“Ron, what are you doing?” I jump up and run ahead, stopping him from getting to Zane. The last thing he needs is someone else making him feel bad. “I think you—”
“How dare you come back here?” Ron yells over my head. “To our home.Herhome.”
He tries to move around me, but I step in his path, continuing to block him. “I’m not—"
“Let him through,” Zane calls out, his voice low in resignation. “Let him say what he needs to say.”
“No.” I stand my ground. “I let self-loathing consume us both once. I refuse to do it again.”
Zane doesn’t speak, and I glance back to see him stand up and walk forward, his usually confident stride severely lacking.
“It’s okay, B. I promise.”
When he’s close enough, he grabs my hand and drags me backward, positioning me behind him, as if I’m the one that needs protecting.
“I’m not trying to cause trouble. I was just walking around and ended up here,” Zane tells his dad, his voice stripped of emotion.
“So, you thought you’d what? Just sit and reminisce about the past? Get the fuck off my property.”
“Ron!” I scold, trying to move around Zane, but he holds me in place.
“No,Blair,” Ron says my name like it’s poison. “This house holds all our dear memories of Sierra. It already contains enough of his darkness; we don’t need anymore.”
“If it’s so dear to you, why are you letting it decay like this?” Zane finally raises his voice, waving his hand at the devastationsurrounding us, a little of his fight coming back. “Why aren’t you protecting her memory?”
“Don’t you dare talk to me about Sierra. You’re the reason she’s dead. And instead of manning up and taking responsibility, you ran.”
“You wanted me to leave!” His sudden outburst startles me, but the gasp out of my mouth comes from his words.
“What?” I grab his hand. “But—”
“No buts, Blair. They both wished it had been me. They hated having to look at me, knowing what I’d done.”
“You didn’tdoanything.”
Zane glances over his shoulder, the hint of a sad smile gracing his lips. “You know that’s not true.”
“This is wrong.” I turn back to Ron and try to step around Zane, but as if he’s a linebacker all of a sudden, he continues to block me. “Ron, you should be helping each other heal. You should—”
“You disgust me,” Ron spits, his venom aimed my way. “I thought you loved Sierra. I thought—”
“Don’t you dare speak to her like that.” Zane steps closer, invading his dad’s personal space. “You have a problem with me, fine. But you leave Blair out of it.”
Zane doesn’t touch his dad, but he’s so close, it’s intimidating.
“Get out of my face,” Ron snaps, his voice unwavering.
“No. Not until you walk away.”
“I should have known.” Ron shoves Zane backward, but he stands tall, his hand out behind him, still holding me back. “Come on,” Ron taunts. “You like to fight. So hit me.”
Zane sighs and his body sags. “I’m not hitting you, Dad.”
