“We all sat down last night and really thought about the many times you reached out,” Eli says. “Even when it was just to say hi.”
“And how busy we were,” Riley adds quietly, “that we’d send a quick reply or rush through a phone call before hanging up.”
“It wasn’t intentional,” Lila says from behind me. “We just weren’t used to talking over text because we were always around one another. We sometimes didn’t check our phones for hours…or days.”
I turn. “How long have you two been here?”
“Long enough,” Sunny says softly. “Long enough to realize how horrible we’ve been as friends.”
“It’s not just on you,” I admit. “I share the blame. I could have come to the compound. I could have stayed. I thought I needed space… silence.”
“And now?” Eli asks.
“Now?” I exhale. “Now I just need my family.”
Riley’s face lights up. “So you’re moving back in?”
“We’d all love that,” Lila adds quickly.
“Tank would too,” Sunny says with a hopeful smile. “He finally admitted he loves you. You can finally be together.”
I take a deep breath and say the words that have been sitting heavy in my chest all day.
“I don’t think Tank is what I want anymore.”
Every smile fades.
“Well… that’s not entirely true,” I continue quietly. “Tank and I are meant to be together. I’ve always believed that. I never understood the intensity of what I felt around him, but I didn’t really need to. I just knew.”
I swallow.
“But being rejected by the person your heart chose for years does something to you.”
No one interrupts.
“Tank owns my heart,” I say honestly. “He always will. I’ve already accepted that I may never love someone the way I love him.”
Sunny’s eyes shine with tears.
“But I still hope I fall in love again someday,” I continue. “It might not be as intense. It might not feel the same. But it’ll still be real.”
My hands curl together.
“I can’t allow myself to hope anymore. I can’t put myself in a position where one more rejection could break what little I’ve managed to hold together.”
I look up, meeting each of their eyes.
“Tank only thinks he loves me now because of what happened.”
The words land heavily.
“And I refuse to build a future on tragedy.”
Riley is the first to speak.
“Abby, I hear what you’re saying,” she says softly. “And you’re right. What you went through…what youendured…it changes things. You don’t owe Tank anything.”
I nod.
