Page 107

“Sara, don’t let her out here, okay,” Evan tells the silhouette on the other side of the screen door.

Evan holds up his hands as if to calm me when he’s the one who got us to this point. “She’s fine. You don’t need to be here.”

Jesus. What’s with this guy?

“Let. Me. See. Her.” I can feel the agitation building. I clench my fists to keep it together. “At least tell her I’m here.”

The door opens, and Emma appears on the porch. Evan makes a move to block her. “Emma, don’t.”

“It’s okay,” she says calmly. “He just wants to make sure I’m okay.”

Evan’s treating me like I’m the one who did this to her. Maybe she didn’t tell him what happened?

Emma’s cheekbone is bruised, and her lip is swollen. She wraps her arms protectively around her ribs, wincing. They’re probably badly bruised, if not broken. I scan her as she approaches me, searching for signs of more injuries. Acid burns the back of my throat.

“Hey,” I say, barely loud enough for her to hear.

“Hey,” she replies. Her eyes shift to the ground. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry,” I say and try to explain. “I’ve been trying to call you. I was going out of my mind worrying about you. You left so fast after…” I don’t know how to finish that. “I didn’t know how badly you were hurt. I needed to see you.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks flush with color. “Um, I don’t even know where my phone is. I should’ve called. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Evan and Sara stand like sentries on the porch, ready to whisk her away. Like she’s this fragile doll. Don’t they realize how strong she really is?

“How are you?” I ask, which is a dumbass question she doesn’t bother answering. “How badly are you hurt?”

“I’ll be okay.”

She’s barely talking to me. She refuses to look at me.

“I scared you, didn’t I?” It’s the only reason she’d be acting this way. She finally meets my eyes. “I promised never to do that. I’m so sorry, Emma.”

Her only response is a nod.

Now I get it. She saw the truth beneath the surface. The anger I can’t extinguish, no matter how hard I try. The part of my father that lives on in me. The horror in her eyes is the fear I cannot overcome.

“I care about you,” I try to amend. “I couldn’t—” Evan adjusts his stance when I glance over at him. This isn’t the place for this. “What does he know?”

“Um.” She hesitates, choosing her words carefully. “I didn’t say anything, really. Just explained how everything was a mess with Rachel. And I didn’t tell the police you were there either. I told them I walked in on the guy and couldn’t remember what he looked like.”

“Okay,” I reply with a nod, not expecting the part about the police. But it makes sense. I’m more concerned about what Evan does and doesn’t know. “So, he doesn’t know about the nightmares, or your fears, or…”

Emma shakes her head, shame pulling her eyes back to the ground. I go to touch her, but she moves out of my reach.

“I know.” I blow out a breath. “It’s not right to put you in this situation.”

The last thing I want is for her to feel responsible for anything that happened yesterday. I don’t know why she’s chosen not to tell Evan. Maybe she doesn’t think he’ll understand. But he knows something, and the way he’s treating me today tells me he doesn’t fricken trust me.

“Emma, please don’t give up on me.” The unfiltered words come out in a rush. I can’t lose her. Not now. Regardless of her relationship with Evan and his sudden need to stand between us. What we have is too important to us both. “Please.”

“I won’t.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. She sounds as breakable as they’re treating her. “I just need some time.”

“I understand.” I lock eyes with Evan, who hasn’t taken his off me. I raise my hands, placating him. But I speak only to her. “I’ll go. But I’ll hear from you… when you’re ready?”

Emma nods before she turns away and slips past her sentries into the house. Sara follows after her. Evan remains at his post on the porch with his arms crossed.

“Thanks,” I call to him. But he doesn’t respond —just continues to watch me until I’m backing my truck out of sight.