“You look like shit,” Theo announces. “What’s wrong with your face?”
I roll my eyes, scowling at the machine. “It’s my face,Dorothy. This is just what it looks like.”
She glares at my use of her full name, but doesn’t take the bait. “You look like a zombie. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I turn back to the coffee machine, making one for each of us. Theo takes hers with a quiet, “Thanks,” joining me as I collapse into a seat at the kitchen table.
“Talk to me,” she orders. “What’s the problem?”
“Why does there have to be a problem?” I counter irritably.
“Again,” she says, lips twitching, “I’m gonna have to point out the fact that your face could scare the bogeyman. If I had to make a guess, I would say you definitely have woman problems.”
I squint at her. “Is that because you’re an expert?”
Theo smiles, all teeth. “Definitely got more experience with the female mind—and body—than you’ll ever have, my friend.” She tugs at the delicate chain around her neck, pulling it out of her collar to show off the wedding bands hanging onto it. “Cherise and I are ten years strong. How long have you and Gracie been together?”
“It’ll be two years in a few months.”
“But you’re solid, right?” Theo asks, arching a brow. “You guys are buying a house, right? Doing the thing.”
“Doing the thing,” I mouth, and she grins.
“Whatever. I mean, you guys are solid, right?”
“Yeah.” My voice breaks, and I drop my eyes to my coffee, hiding the vulnerability that feels like it’s scuttling along my skin.
“Braxton?”
I close my eyes, sucking in a lungful of air. It whistles through my teeth when I let it back out. “Weweresolid.” It’s a whispered confession, finally breathing truth on a reality I’ve been hiding from.
Theo goes still, as if she’s worried any sudden movements will shock me into hiding again. The thought makesthe corner of my mouth twitch, even when the last thing I feel is amused. “What happened?” she asks gently.
“I did,” I admit. “I torpedoed our relationship.” I slump against the back of my chair, dropping my head back with a groan. “I didn’t fucking mean to, but that accident?—”
“Allison.”
I’m not surprised that she knows which one I mean. I blink up at the ceiling, noticing a brown water stain to the left. “Allison.”
Theo blows out a breath. “It was a messed-up day, Braxton. It’s not surprising it’s fucking with your head.” She pauses before adding, “I heard the chief talked to you about it.”
“No hiding anything in this place,” I mutter without heat. “I can’t stop thinking about it, even now. I keep wondering what if I’d just done something different, you know?Anything.”
I jump when Theo snags my hand, dropping my head to lock eyes with her earnest ones. “Her stats were stable. There were no obvious signs of injury. She was conscious, alert, and talking to you. What else could you have done, Braxton?” She squeezes my fingers, like she’s trying to press the obvious answer into my skin.
I smile sadly, saying simply, “Got her out.”
Theo shakes her head. “Even if that asshole never crashed into her, you know Allison wouldn’t have made it.”
There’s no arguing facts, so I just look away. Theo doesn’t accept that, coming to stand beside my chair and pressing a hand to my shoulder. She doesn’t say a word, just leaving her hand there, letting the light weight of it ground me.
Eventually, I quietly say, “I know. I do know that therewas nothing I could have done for her. But at least she wouldn’t have died like that.”
“You almost died as well,” Theo observes. “If Ryan had been even a millisecond slower…”
I don’t answer, but I don’t need to. We’re both more than aware of what would have happened if Ryan hadn’t been there that day, and standing so close to me. If he hadn’t registered the car hurtling around the bend a second before everyone else.
“I also heard you never told Gracie about the accident,” Theo says carefully, her hand still on my shoulder as I reach for my coffee, acting like I don’t feel as if I’m being flayed alive.
