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“I can’t take it,” she said, gathering her coat from the stand.
Tim shook Mr. Metsky’s hand and looked at Will, whose fist held the crumpled tissue. “You rich people think you can get away with anything. You'llburn in hell.”
The Ramos family swept out of the house, slamming the door in their wake. Mr. Metsky looked at Will’s horrified face and his eyes creased with pity.
“You have to understand that they’re veryfurious. We were angry, too for a long time, but we realized that it was destroying us.”
The tall form of his body blurred as tears blinded me. I reached for Will’s hand and squeezed hard.
“Julian wouldn’t want us to live the rest of our lives like that. We wanted to see remorse that’s all. You know, Dan never attempted to visit us. Never called to apologize or anything.”
Tears slid down my face as I looked at him. Never? I couldn’t believe it.
Will shook his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I don’t talk to him anymore.”
Mrs. Metsky held her arm around his shoulders and whispered something in his ear, which made him break out into fresh tears. The rest of the visit passed in a whirlwind of tears from everyone, including me, and then they gathered outside to take pictures. I watched them, hoping beyond hope that this would help William heal.
* * *
“How was it?”
Mr. Pardini’s face was anxious as we reentered the apartment, with the reporter’s promise that the story would be published the next day. I looked at Will as he shrugged and headed straight for his bedroom, ignoring his father’s questions.
“It went okay.The Ramos family is still furious. They made that clear.”
He gave a look that was nonplussed. “Of course they’re angry.”
“He didn’t take it well,” I said in a whisper. “I’ll go talk to him.”
I headed over to his bedroom and knocked before opening the door. Will sat on his bed, his beautiful blue shirt lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. His eyes flicked toward me, that same deadened look on his face. I could tell that it wasn’t enough.
Will, when are you going to come back to me?
I sat next to him. “What are you thinking?”
He said nothing for several seconds. “I’m still in shock, I think.”
I grabbed his arm and squeezed it until he looked at me. “They forgave you. Even they pointed out you did nothing wrong!”
“Not all of them.”
“The others are just angry because they have no one else to be angry with! Dan is out of the picture.”
“I know.”
I stood up from the bed, suddenly tired. Then I walked toward the door.
“Natalie?” His low voice lifted in surprise.
“I need to go home.”
The bed bounced as he stood up. His hand slammed the door shut as I opened it. I was surprised that he followed me. His bare arm blocked my path, followed by the rest of this body as he leaned against the frame. I hated myself for the hope gathering in my chest.
“No, you will not leave like this.”
“I’m not upset, I just—I’m tired.”
“Natalie.”
