For now.
The rest of the afternoon crawls. Holt works in silence. I try to focus on the transmission I'm rebuilding but keep losing my place. Keep thinking about Scout's face when she ran. The way her voice cracked.
Six o'clock rolls around. Closing time.
I'm wiping down tools when I hear footsteps on the stairs.
Scout appears, bag over her shoulder, car keys in hand. Her eyes are still red. Face still blotchy. She doesn't look at either of us.
"I'm going for a drive," she says.
And then she's gone.
Holt and I are alone in the garage.
The floor fans keep turning. The radio plays something I don't hear. And I'm done. I'm so fucking done watching this.
I walk over, plant myself between Holt and his truck. "We're talking. Now."
"Move."
"No."
He tries to step around me. I block him again.
"Finn—"
"I gave you Monday." My voice is steady. Controlled. "Thought maybe you'd work it out. Pull your head out of your ass. But this is killing her, and I'm not watching another day of it."
"Get out of my way."
"She's not eating. Not sleeping." I step closer. "Because of you."
"She's better off without—"
"Don't." I point at him. "Don't you fucking dare. You don't get to decide what she's better off with. That's not your call."
His jaw clenches. "You don't understand."
"Then make me understand. Tell me why you're doing this to her."
"I hurt her."
"So you said." I cross my arms. "And she forgave you. She told you it was okay. She wanted—"
"She doesn't know what she wants." His voice cracks. "She thinks she does, but she doesn't. She's been through too much. She's—"
"She's what? Too broken? Too damaged?" I take another step. "You sound just like her ex."
That lands. I see it in his face.
"Evan used to decide what she could handle. Used to tell her what she wanted. Used to make choices for her because he thought he knew better." I pause, let that sink in. "You're doing the exact same thing."
"That's not—"
"It is. You made a choice for her. Decided she was too fragile to know her own mind. Too broken to handle the truth."
"I saw the bruise." His voice drops. "Sunday morning. When she was sleeping. I saw what I did to her and I—" He stops. Swallows. "I can't be that person."
