Marie and I both stay quiet.
“If her dad sees us at his doorstep he’ll waste no second in kicking us out. God knows what he’ll do to you. He. Beats. His. Daughter.”
Marie trembles violently, and presses a hand to her stomach.
My insides roll in disgust and hatred. The amount of rage that consumes me is nowhere close to how he makes me feel. He drives me livid. I can’t say that if he doesn’t appear in front of me again that I wouldn’t do anything to him.
Sebastian’s eyes soften. “He’s been hurting Hope for months. Can you imagine how scared and helpless she felt?”
Marie sniffles and nods. “I’m such a bad friend.”
“Gosh, no, baby.” He steps closer and tucks her in his arms. “You were what she needed to get through every hard day that she was having. I truly believe that your friendship helped her and she didn’t do something that would have taken her away from us.”
Suicide.
I close my eyes at that thought.
Fuck. I can’t imagine Hope leaving this place.
I don’t know what I’ll do without her.
In such a short time she’s become my hope. Something I look forward to when I wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.
That girl has changed me.
Now I can’t think of a moment where she’s not in it.
My feelings for her are so strong, fierce and huge that they fill my entire chest till I can’t breathe. She’s what I’m filled with and still there’s more room for her to consume me.
She’s starting to own me, or maybe she already does. I’m hers, and she’s mine.
That is if she wants to. I’d never want to take away her choice in any matter. But I hope she chooses me, because I choose her.
“Then why didn’t she just tell me? Is there something in me that made her feel like she couldn’t tell me?” Marie asks Sebastian who looks down at her with such sadness. She always blames herself. It looks like even therapy hasn’t helped her in letting go of that habit.
“No, baby. No!” Sebastian says softly.
“I tried to be good to her, Sebastian. I really tried.”
“I know you did. I swear it’s not you.”
“Then?”
“She was scared.”
“But—”
I intervene knowing I have to put her head at ease. “She didn’t tell me either and I asked her a lot of fucking times. Sebastian is right. She was scared.”
Marie narrows her eyes on me. “I don’t even want to talk to you. You knew and you didn’t tell me.”
“And I had a very good reason for it. Sebastian agreed.”
“Hey! I did not.”
“You did?”
They both speak at the same time.
