“Are you okay?” she asks quietly.
I nod, jaw clenched.
Inside, all I can think isthis is my fault.
If I hadn’t made her story public property in a town that feeds on drama.
I watch her sit back down, smoothing her dress like nothing happened, like she hasn’t just been dragged through my worst mistake all over again.
And I wanted to hurt him. If he had a problem, he should have brought it to me. I would have stood there and taken it. That would have required a spine, though, and none of the people in this town had one. It was easier to tear at her than to face theman who caused the damage. Easier to punish the visible wound than the person who made it.
When Emma and Lily return, Claire smile immediately, as if she’s having a fun time.
I smile too.
And all I can think is how badly I wish I’d made Liam bleed.
Chapter 59
Ethan
The parking lot smells like warm asphalt and spilled soda.
Lily skips ahead of us, bouncing in her new shoes proudly with every step, Mom trailing behind her with an indulgent smile that hasn’t left her face all day. Claire walks beside me, close enough that I’m aware of the heat from her body, far enough that I don’t brush her hand.
I keep my eyes forward.
“Dinner with us?” Mom asks suddenly, turning to Claire as if the idea has just occurred to her.
Claire hesitates only a second. “Sure.”
The word lands in my chest like a dropped weight.
Normally, I wait for these visits. Count on them. Mark time by them. But tonight, for the first time, I wish she would say no. I wish she would make an excuse. I wish she would leave this moment untouched.
Because I know she’s going to ask.
And I don’t know how to answer her without tearing myself apart.
The drive back to the house is quiet. Lily chatters from the back seat, narrating every thought she’s had since the mall, her voice bright and unburdened. Mom laughs in all the right places. Claire listens, smiling, nodding, slipping seamlessly into the rhythm like she belongs there.
She does belong here.
That thought almost makes me crash. I’m thankful that nobody knows my stupid thoughts.
Dinner is loud in the way family dinners are, clinking silverware, overlapping conversations, dad asking Lily about her spelling test even though mom already did. I sit across from Claire, answering questions when they’re directed at me, keeping my responses short.
I can feel her watching me.
She has that way about her. Always has.
“So,” Dad says, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “How was the mall?”
“Fun!” Lily announces. “I got pink shoes.”
“They light up,” Mom adds.
Claire smiles at her. “I noticed.”
