Page 194 of Puck Me Back to Life

“I'm still here.”

“You shouldn't be.”

I pull the truck onto the shoulder of a quiet side street.

“I'm choosing to be.” I look him in his eyes. “You don't have to keep apologizing.”

The engine idles. I unbuckle my seat belt. “Kai.”

The second I say his name, he breaks.

His face folds in on itself. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

I reach for him immediately.

He practically falls across the center console into my arms. “I'm sorry.”

“I know.”

“I'm so sorry.”

“I know.”

His fingers fist in the front of my shirt. “I'm just...” He shakes his head helplessly. “So tired.”

I wrap both arms around him. His forehead presses against my shoulder.

“It's okay.”

“No, it isn't.”

“It will be.”

“I don't think so.”

I smooth a hand through his hair. “You don't have to believe that tonight.”

His breathing catches. “He said William was dead…” Another shaky breath. “…and that some pathetic excuse for a hockey player was still alive. That's what sent me over the edge.”

The words hang between us. My jaw clenches so hard it hurts. I don't interrupt.

Kai keeps talking.

“I know he hates me. I know why and he should. But…” His voice grows impossibly small. “I was finally starting to feel like myself again.”

He looks up at me with red, exhausted eyes. “You make me want to get better.”

The confession steals the air from my lungs. I hold him tighter.

“Listen to me.”

He doesn't move.

“What Noah said came from his grief. It doesn't make it true.”

Silence settles over the truck.

Not empty.