The noise bleeds through the door again—someone laughing too loud, a sound of metal scraping, the movie dialogue cutting through in bursts. It all stacks back up, pressing in from every direction.
Danielle’s still watching me.
Waiting.
My phone buzzes again.
I glance down.
Don’t read it.
Can’t read it.
I swallow, try again. “I?—”
The word catches.
Doesn’t finish.
I look past her without meaning to, my focus slipping—and catch movement at the end of the hall.
Liam. He’s back. From the way he beelines it to me, I think he can tell I’ve lost the thread completely.
He walks over, slower this time.
“Hey,” he says quietly, not to Danielle. To me. “You good?”
Am I? I shake my head, small. Barely there. “I think I…I think I need to go.”
It comes out rough, but it’s the first thing that actually feels true.
Liam nods immediately. “Then you go.”
Danielle looks between us. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve got the girls,” Liam says, calm, already shifting into place like he’s done this before. “We’ll handle it.”
I nod once, because I can’t explain it. Don’t have the words. Don’t have the space in my head to try.
My fingers are still spinning the ring, faster now, useless.
“I—” I start again, to Danielle this time. “I’m sorry.”
It’s all I’ve got. All I can manage to say before I turn and leave. There’s no plan. No fixing what may have happened here.
I am out the door, down the hall, in no time. The noise changes but does not disappear, my phone still buzzes in my hand, my chest tight and my thoughts finally narrowing to one thing?—
Get out.
CHAPTER 25
VIVIAN
My car smells faintly like antiseptic and peppermint. It’s an odd combination, but it somehow feels like a win.
I glance over at my grandmother in the passenger seat, bundled up like she’s preparing for a snowstorm instead of a short drive home. Blanket, cardigan, the whole situation.
She looks good. Tired, yes. A little pale. But good.
