“I didn’t even start it—”
Lincoln glares at me, arms the size of my thighs folded across his chest. “Don’t even go there, man.”
I look down and collapse into the kitchen chair in defeat.
“What the hell were we thinking?” I ask aloud, to no one in particular.
“I don’t know, but youallscrewed the pooch with this one,” Sandy berates.
“I don’t even know what to do.” I’m helpless.
Sandy grabs my hand. “Leave her be, Xan. She needs time to heal.”
“Heal? Did something—”
“Her heart,” she answers quickly—too quickly.
“Is there something else going on here?”
“She just needs time,” Dad replies.
That’s not an answer.
“She’s gone, man,” Lincoln says aloud. “She went back there.”
“What?” Jesse asks.
“She went back to that space inside herself, the one where no one can reach her,” Lincoln informs him.
“Damn it. I’m so fucking sorry for last night, but sorry isn’t enough this time,” Jesse mutters. “I knew she was fragile. She’d just found her way back to us.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, brother. We were all there. None of us were thinking clearly,” Ethan placates.
“No, we weren’t. We were too wrapped up in ourselves to remember there are people who can and will—do—get hurt when we’re careless,” I add. “The question now is: How do we make things right?”
Dad shakes his head. “You can’t. Not right now. She needs space.”
“But, Dad, her description of space felt like a thousand miles between us,” I tell him. “She sounded so final—like it was over. Everything was over. I can’t let it be over. Without her…” I drop my head into my hands, dropping the ice pack. Who fucking cares about my nose? Who fucking cares about anything when Tera’s not there?
“I should talk to her,” Jesse announces.
“That’s not a good idea,” Sandy replies.
“This sucks,” Jesse bites out, then looks at Sandy. “Yeah, I know. We made our own bed.”
She nods.
“Ethan,” Dad begins, “Tera wanted me to tell you she’s not mad at you.”
“Really?” Ethan asks, hopeful, eyes glistening.
Dad nods. “She said you came here, for her, first. Before anyone else.”
Ethan swallows thickly and nods. “I did. I knew what… I called Linc last night and caught the first flight out.”
“She knows that. She appreciates you, Ethan,” Dad tells him.
I want to kick my own ass. I should have hopped on the plane. I should have left that party when I wanted to instead of letting Ben and the guys talk me into staying. I keep saying it, but I fucking knew better.
