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‘Okay,’ I say finally, my voice quiet. ‘Talk.’

Relief crashes over his face so fast it almost hurts to see. He exhales shakily and nods, like he’s afraid the moment will vanish if he doesn’t move carefully. I sit down on the edge of the bed, folding my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking. He opens his mouth just as the door slams open. The sound is violent in the quiet room, and the door hits the wall so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t crack as it rebounds. I jump to my feet instinctively. Ash spins around to find Grant there, filling the doorway, broad and furious, his eyes pinned on Ash and how close he is to me.

‘What the hell is this?’ he snaps.

My stomach plummets to my feet. I hadn’t heard them come home.

Ash takes a step back. ‘Sir, I—’

‘Out,’ my stepdad growls, cutting him off. ‘Now.’

‘He was just—’ I start, panic flooding my chest.

‘Bryn,’ he barks without looking at me. ‘Do not speak a word right now.’

Ash looks at me, his eyes wide with desperation. He doesn’t argue. He doesn’t try to explain. He just gives me one last look, like he’s begging me to remember that I chose to listen, and then he moves past Grant and through the door.

‘You piece of shit,’ Grant snarls, curling his hands into the fabric of Ash’s shirt and slamming him into the wall so hard that the photo frames down the end of the hallway come off their hooks. I’m surprised he manages it, since Ash is significantly taller than him, but anger must explain Grant’s burst of strength. ‘How long have you been sneaking into my house? Huh?’

‘Grant!’ my mother hisses, appearing at my bedroom door. Her hair is a mess, and she has a silk robe wrapped around her. She must have gone to their room as soon as they got home. ‘Let him go.’

Reluctantly, Grant steps back, his neck reddening. ‘If I ever see you near my family again, I’ll kill you.’

Ash stands there calmly, his hands at his sides. I know he can fight, I know he has had to fight off his own family members, but he chooses not to retaliate right now, and I’m thankful. It would only escalate things. He pauses just long enough to throw me one last pained look before disappearing down the stairs. The front door slams shut a moment later, and the silence that follows is suffocating.

I notice movement at Isla’s door. She looks me up and down before melting back into the darkness. I stand there, my heart racing, knowing with sick certainty that whatever Ash was about to say, whatever truth or lie or explanation, will now live forever in the space of things I never got to hear.

‘We will deal with you in the morning,’ Grant says gruffly, a look of pure anger and disappointment on his face.

When they’re all gone, I lean heavily against the wall, hunched over. I feel as if my heart has been gutted and is bleeding all through me.

Everything is over.

30

ASH

Now

She’s here.

Bryn is curled into me, her back warm against my chest, her hair fanned across my arm. My hand is still resting at her waist as though I never let go, like some part of me refused to loosen its grip, even in sleep. The weight of her against me settles something deep in my chest that’s been restless for years.

I’ve waited for this for a long, long time.

I press my face lightly into her hair and close my eyes, letting contentment spread, slow and steady, filling all my hollow places. For years, I told myself I was fine. That I’d moved on. That what happened back then didn’t still sit under my skin like unfinished business, but waking up like this, feeling her breaths in time with mine, makes the truth impossible to ignore.

She’s always been it.

I shift just enough to pull her closer, careful not to wake her, and she melts against me, her body fitting perfectly into mine. My thumb traces lines along her arm. She stirs quietly before her lashes flutter. Her eyes open halfway, and when they find me, she smiles, the small kind she only wears when she hasn’t put her guard back up yet. I lean in and kiss her.

‘Hey,’ she murmurs.

‘Hey,’ I say, just as quietly.

She tucks her face into my chest. I kiss her temple. I simply can’t stop kissing her. She shifts again, more awake now, propping her chin on my chest.

‘So, what’s the plan for today?’ she asks.