“No, notyou,” Norah said and then glanced over her shoulder as Lindy joined her in the doorway.
Lindy’s expression was…off.
So off that every nerve in my body sat up at once.
Zane must’ve felt it, too, because his hands tightened at my hips. A silent reassurance.
“Andi…” Lindy said, her maternal voice sounding a lot like heartbreak. “Sweetheart…” And what she said next hit like a punch to the sternum, knocking the wind right out of me. A cold,dizzying kind of hurt followed, stabbing in the center of my chest and spiderwebbing outward until even my fingertips felt numb.
I didn’t hear all of it. Not clearly. Her tenderly spoken words were distorted by the roaring in my ears. For what felt like the longest time, I just sat there, staring at her mouth as it kept moving. The room—my new room—felt like it was tilting, and if Zane wasn’t there, slipping his arm around my waist, I might’ve folded right there onto the floor.
He didn’t say anything. Didn’t have to. He just held me steady while Lindy’s news cracked something open inside me.
And all the while all I could think was: when it rains, it pours.
Except this time, the downpour wasn’t good.
Not even close.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Zane
“Damn kids gotinto half the town last night,” Willy rumbled, scratching his salt and pepper beard with a hand that seemed to be permanently grease-stained, much like his coveralls. “TP’d just about every business in town except for the Spur—Red’s late hours saved him on that one, I guess—and threw eggs at anything standin’ still. Little shits also knocked over close to thirty mailboxes before gettin’ stuck in a ditch out by Henry White’s place. Serves them right, if ya ask me.” He tugged off his baseball cap, ran a hand through his thinning hair, and plopped it back on. “But instead of callin’ for help like normal people, those geniuses broke into my lot, grabbed my tow truck and…” He lifted an arm and made a regretful face as he gestured to the Camaro. “Did that.”
I didn’t say a word. Just stared at the car and then at Andi standing beside me—my eyes slowly darting between the two of them and trying to determine which one looked more wrecked.
The Camaro itself looked pretty rough. The windshield had a long, branching crack stretching across the entire bottom length of the glass. The driver’s side door was pushed in deep where those “geniuses” had backed into it with Willy’s tow truck, making it clearthatdoor wasn’t opening again anytime soon.And the driver’s side window…well…the only thing left of it was just a jagged lower edge of glass clinging to the frame.
Overall, the damage to the car wasn’t catastrophic and, thankfully, limited to just the body. I knew that. Willy knew that. And I also knew that it could’ve been a hell of a lot worse had they backed into it any faster than they did. At the end of the day, it was nothing that a few parts and a few weeks in Willy’s hands couldn’t fix. Finding a new door might slow things down, but nothing about it was beyond repair.
But Andi…she wasn’t seeing any of that. And the last thing I wanted was to tell her it “wasn’t so bad.” It might not have been bad to me…but, from the look on her face, it sure as hell was bad to her.
“They’re gonna pay for it,” Willy said gently. “Their parents, I mean. Sheriff’s making damn good sure of that. I’m sorry, Andi. I really am.”
Andi just…nodded. But it wasn’t a present nod. It was…distant. Like she was physically here but mentally off somewhere else. And it was that look right there that made my stomach sink, because I’d seen her angry before. Seen her scared. Seen fight in her. But this? This was the look of someone who’d been knocked back into a place she’d clawed her way out of.
It fucking gutted me.
Deputy Woodson waved Willy over to his cruiser, and he excused himself, apologizing again before leaving me and Andi standing alone in the middle of the gravel lot. My hand found the small of her back, resting there for one strained moment before curving around her waist and drawing her into my side.
“I thought I was past all this.”
My eyes narrowed, confused by her words, as she stood unmoving in my embrace. “Past what?”
She didn’t look at me, but when she spoke again her voice sounded so small. “Feeling trapped.”
Keeping my hand on her waist, I moved to stand in front of her—touching my fingers under her chin and gently coaxing her gaze to mine. “Where’s this comin’ from, princess?” Her glassy eyes darted between mine. “Talk to me,” I urged gently. “How are you feeling trapped?”
Her tongue dragged over her teeth, making a soft, sucking sound before pursing her lips and swallowing hard. “I don’t know how to say it without sounding like I’m contradicting myself.”
“Try me,” I said softly, tipping my mouth into a reassuring grin.
We went silent for a beat as I watched her process her thoughts, practically seeing those wheels spinning as she tried to work out whatever she was about to tell me.
“It’s just…I made my decision,” she finally said. “A choice that was mine and mine alone. To stay here in this little town becauseIwanted to. But now…” She sucked in a shaky breath. “Now it feels like that choice doesn’t matter anymore.” Her chin wobbled. “Like the world just went ahead and decided for me again.”
“Andi…” I started, but she cut me off.
