Page 178 of Beautiful Scars

The room comes into view between the slats on the banister as I inch down the stairs.

Cole’s laid out on the sofa, eyelids heavy. Breathing stable.

Kill’s sitting on the opposite side, elbows on his knees, hands behind his head.

Derek’s standing there with a sober look on his face, glancing up when he hears me. He takes a step forward, almost rushing, and then seems to catch himself.

“What happened?” Derek asks, gruffer than normal.

I glance over at Kill, who doesn’t even look up.

There’s no explanation for what Cole did. For what he was planning to do.

The light outside is fading now. Would this have been dark enough? Would we have already been in the car if it wasn’t for Kill and Derek arriving in time?

“I didn’t know what he was going to do. I swear. We went to th-the home, but I didn’t know it was a home, not until he came out with her. And then it was too late.” My thoughts and words get more jumbled as it spills out of me. There’s too much to explain. “I saw Meisie’s belly during the dress fitting… Ionlymentioned it to Cole. I thought he would have known—he said you tell each other everything. I never thought he would have—”

“Sarah,” Derek cuts me off, coming closer. “Why did he take her?”

Again, I glance over at Cillian. Why is he so calm?

He’s not going to stay calm.

Not when I tell him why Cole took her.

“He was… He was going to take her out to the fields....”

“What? Why?” Derek, again, this time with a screwed-up face.

When I answer, it’s Kill I look at. “So he could make it look like you did it. He said Meisie would never speak to you again.”

Kill’s face turns to stone, and I can’t hold back anymore. My shoulders wrack as a sob tears through me. I sag, my legs almost going out from under me, but then I’m in a pair of strong arms. Derek hugs me so hard, I struggle to breathe, but I never want him to stop.

I can still see how he pulled Cole off me like he weighed nothing. The fierce protectiveness in his eyes.

So I let him hold me as I let go of as much pain as I can. Most stays behind, but it feels good. Good to cry. Good to be held.

Good to know that, today, it didn’t have to end.