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She lets me go.

I find Ryder outside on the terrace overlooking the mountains.

His hands grip the railing. “You weren’t supposed to know that.”

I stop beside him. “Apparently.”

“Lila talks too fucking much.”

“Also apparently.”

He looks at me. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Tell me it wasn’t my fault.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

That surprises him. “I know all the lines,” he says. “I was eighteen. Cole made his own choice. Tyler was driving. I couldn’t control everything.”

“But?”

“I could’ve stayed.”

“Yes.”

His head turns sharply.

I shrug. “You could have. You could’ve followed him outside. Called someone. Tried to stop him again.” He frowns. “So could Cole.” He says nothing. “So could Tyler. So could everyone else at that party.”

“Clara.”

“Maybe you could have done more, Ryder.”

His jaw tightens.

“But wishing you’d done more isn’t the same thing as doing nothing.”

Silence.

“You took his keys.”

“Didn’t fucking matter.”

“It matters.”

“Not to Cole.”

“No. To you.”

He looks away.

“You’ve spent eighteen years telling yourself you left your drunk brother to drive home.”

“I did leave.”

“After you took away his keys.”