“Enzo said Tabitha had to drive you to your psychiatrist,” I pressed gently. “How did that go?”
“Dr. Stewart thinks my medication isn’t working properly because I’m not sleeping or eating right,” the words came out in a rush, like she was relieved to tell someone. “She wants to take me off my meds until I get my shit together. Which is terrifyingbecause I can barely function as it is, and without them I’m afraid I’ll be completely useless.”
The raw honesty in her voice made my chest tight.
“Sweetheart—”
“I don’t know what I did wrong,” her voice cracked slightly. “Everything was good, and then suddenly you were... different. Distant. And then you left without really explaining why. And I kept trying to figure out what I’d done, what I’d said, but I couldn’t—” Another shaky breath. “I thought maybe you’d figured out this whole thing was a mistake. I was a mistake.”
“Oh, darlin’, you weren’t a mistake.” My vision blurred slightly. “Alex, you didn’t do anything wrong. This is all on me.”
“Then what—” Her voice broke completely. “Finn, whathappened? Because one day we were fine and the next you were packing up and leaving. And I know you had to go take care of family stuff, but I don’t understand why you shut me out—”
I could hear her trying not to cry—trying to hold it together even on a phone call at midnight. I swallowed.
“I got some medical test results back. During the recital. And instead of talking to you about it, I got scared and used the family trip as an excuse to run away.”
“What kind of medical results?”
I looked up at the stars, trying to find words for something I’d barely been able to say to Dom. “The kind that affects more than just my future.”
“Finn,” her voice was steadier now. “Like what?”
“I miss you,” I said instead of answering directly. “And I need to tell you what’s been going on with me—and I think I might chicken out if I don’t tell you to your face.”
Another pause. “You want to come down here?”
“If you’ll let me. I know I’ve been an ass, but—”
“Yes,” the word came out fast. “Yes, come down here. I want to see you.”
The relief I felt was immediate and overwhelming. “I can drive down tonight. Be there by morning.”
“Finn, it’s already midnight. You’ll be driving all night.”
“I’ve done longer drives on less sleep,” I was already mentally calculating route and timing. “I need to see you, Alex. Not just tell you things. I need to see you.”
She was quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was stronger. “I need to see you too. But not if it means you driving through the night when you’re tired. I couldn’t stand the thought of you—”
“Alex—”
“No, listen. I have to deal with work stuff tomorrow anyway. I have to fire Jordan. He’s been stealing from the company and giving our tech to Titan in exchange for a position with them.”
I was going to kill Jordan.
“Come down in the morning. I’ll take the afternoon off and we can talk properly.”
She was right. Driving six hours at night after everything that had happened wasn’t smart.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
Her voice was soft, and for the first time since I’d left Wyoming, she sounded like herself. “Okay. I’ll... I’ll be here.”
“Alexandra?”
