"I thought we already had."
He points at me and raises his brows. "You know better than that."
"Whatever," I reply when Carter hands me a cup of steaming coffee.
"I think it's fantastic. It's about time that asshole gets a taste of his own medicine," Carter tells us with a grin.
"Yeah!" I agree. "What Carter said."
Linc rolls his eyes. "It's like high school all over again."
I laugh.
"Not funny, little sister."
"It is for me," I tease.
"Yeah, yeah. You're not stuck in the middle—again."
Carter cocks his head. "Again? You mean, he was like this back then, too?"
Linc nods.
"I thought it was one-sided," Carter mutters. "I should have known." He pauses. "What a fucking idiot! Again!"
Lincoln nods and points at Carter. "Exactly, and she's no better."
Carter looks at me thoughtfully.
"What?"
"Why?" he asks.
"Why what?"
"Why are you wasting time, Tera? You know as well as I do it can all end in a split second," Carter questions.
I sigh. "I can't be what he needs me to be."
"And what's that, exactly?"
"His wife. Standing next to him in the spotlight. I can't do that. I can't even step outside of this building without panicking so bad I hyperventilate," I admit quietly.
"You're still in therapy, right?" Carter asks.
I nod. "I'm working on it. I'm just not there yet."
"Ah. So you're not wasting time. You're using it to heal and get strong again. I get it."
I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him.
"Finally," I whisper. "Someone understands."
"You're really not that complicated," Carter mutters.
"You keep right on thinking that, pal." With that, Lincoln walks out of the room with luggage in tow.
Carter gives me an amused smile. "You giving your brother a hard time?"
