“I can drive,” I tell her as I open the passenger door. Piper’s scent is all wrong. It’s too earthy and herbal, nothing like Blair’s.
It makes me miss her more.
“It’s fine,” she says. “You look as bad as she does. Maybe worse.”
“She wouldn’t talk to me,” I mutter in defeat.
“Yeah. Seeing the accident must have spooked her. She likes to process things alone, so I’m not surprised she kicked you to the curb,” Piper says lightly. “If I had tried to go in after her, she would have slammed the door in my face.”
I grimace, and Piper sighs.
“Dealing with an upset Blair is like bathing a cat,” she says, and I raise an eyebrow in response. “The more you try to grab her, the more she squirms away. She basically just got thrown into a bathtub with no warning.”
“And I’m the one that threw her into the bathtub.”
Piper shakes her head as we turn onto the freeway. “No. Life did. This was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m just grateful you three are okay. That accident looked horrible.”
“It was. We got really fucking lucky today. The only difficult part will be handling insurance and the towing fee, but that’s Rowan’s problem, not mine.”
That’s not true.
The difficult part, the worst part of all of this, is Blair’s reaction.
I’d rather have broken every bone in my body than see that haunted look on her face.
“She blames herself for our accident, doesn’t she?” I mutter.
I already knew the answer before I asked the question.
If she blames herself for what happened to her ex pack, of course she blames herself for what just happened to us.
“She has a tendency to do that,” Piper confirms. “I can try talking to her. It will just take her time to process, but it will be okay.”
I glance at Piper’s face. “You don’t believe that,” I counter. “Do you?”
Her lips thin. “I don’t know, Travis,” she sighs. “I want her happy, just like you do. But I can’t go into her brain and rewire everything for her. Not when she’s had these beliefs for so long.”
Fuck.
It’s insane for her to blame herself for everything that’s happened—but I know the feeling.
I know what it’s like to believe that the outcome would have been different if it wasn’t forme.
I should have told her that before she closed the door to her apartment tonight.
I should have opened up to her.
It might be too late.
We drive in silence until we reach my packhouse. Piper pulls into the driveway, then looks at me.
“Hey,” she says. “Blair is my best friend in the entire world. She pulled me out of some of the worst times in my life. She’s got that strength inside her for everyone but herself. Just…be patient with her, okay? You make her happy, happier than I’ve seen her in a long time.”
I nod. “I’ll wait however long it takes. I’m not going anywhere, and neither are Rowan and Ryland.”
“Good. Everything is going to be fine. I promise.”
Piper can’t promise that, but her words are still appreciated.
