“Some yeah. Beth didn’t deserve that, you know? She was clean for a long time before Patrick interfered. What if she can’t get clean again?”
“If she did it once, then there’s no reason she can’t again Hurry. Hopefully, with some distance, she can take control of her life.” I really hope she can, for his sake. It’s been tearing Seb apart to see his mom failing. Now we need to add worrying about Nick on top of everything else. Taking a deep breath, I squeeze his hand. “Let’s go back to the couch.”
Seb stands and pulls me up into a hug. “I wanted to ask what you thought of E not volunteering to leave with us?”
“Oh. I understand the hesitation. It was a life-altering decision, Hurry.”
“Yeah, but it’s us. Would he have really let us leave, not knowing when we would see each other again? He was my forever.”
“He’s not anymore?”
“I don’t know, Sunshine,” he shakes his head. “I don’t know anything anymore.”
“Do you want me to haul him back here so we can talk?” He nods, so I go out and find E, asking him to join us in my room. I take a seat on the bed as the two of them stare at each other. Since no one is speaking, I start. “E, you hurt Seb when you hesitated about moving with us for witness protection.”
“It was a life-changing move. Something I needed to think about,” E says, rubbing the back of hisneck.
“Would you have come with us? If we had to leave?” Seb asks him.
“Why does it matter? You guys don’t have to leave now,” E replies. Oh damn. That was the wrong thing to say. He’s deflecting.
Seb drops onto the bed beside me and grabs my hand. “I guess I have my answer.”
“That’s not fair, Seb. There’s school to consider, and I’m trying to work things out with my grandparents.”
“Your inheritance again? That’s more important than us?” Seb asks. I look up and see his shoulders slumped, and tears welling in his eyes—the picture of devastation. “It’s not love if money is more important, E.”
“I do love you. I love you both. I probably would've chased you both down if you left. I keep screwing everything up. I’m sorry,” E says, defeated, before walking out.
Wrapping my arms around Seb, I lean my head on his shoulder and get him to talk some more about E. I’m less hurt than he is because my relationship with E wasn’t as long. I know he cares, but he’s also overwhelmed with his life right now. I wouldn’t blame him if he stayed. Seb, however, does, and I understand his feelings. If Jake had hesitated to come with me, I’d have been destroyed. But Seb’s situation is different; he chose to leave, expecting E to follow.
Bay comes in to check on us, knocking on the doorframe. “Is everything okay? E seems pretty upset.”
“Not really.” I shrug and pat the bed beside me. Bay takes a seat, grabbing my other hand. “I spoke to my dad, and I was going to come with you guys.”
“That’s amazing. Thank you, Bay,” I smile.
“No thanks needed. You guys are family. Although I suspect our family isn’t doing so well right now.”
“Understatement,” Seb replies. “E wasn’t going to come.”
“I’m surprised,” Bay says. “Although he’s struggling with his family right now. I’m glad I wasn’t born intomoney,” he jokes.
I bump my shoulder into his. “Me too. At least not around here. Their lifestyle makes no sense to me.”
“Me three,” Seb mumbles.
“Suggestions on how we get our two friends to get their heads out of their asses?” Bay asks.
“No idea,” Seb shrugs.
“I have an idea for Alex that I’m keeping up my sleeve, but I’m not sure about E.”
“Since both of you have already tried, I’ll talk to him,” Bay offers. I squeeze his hand in thanks. “Come out when you guys are ready. Z's in the office with Troy, and the rest are watching a movie.”
Seb and I sit together for a while longer on the edge of my bed, just thinking. How did we end up here with everyone’s life so messy? We’re splintering apart.
A few hours later, Troy and Zander join us in the living room again. We’re all still dazed, not talking much. I’ve cried on and off, as has Gabby. “Okay, guys,” Troy begins. “I know this is really hard for everyone. It’s hard for us too. First thing is, we’re still on high alert. Travel in pairs. Gabs, no going anywhere alone. Summer, you’ll have Ceres with you for a while yet. Please be vigilant. Second, we have a leak in the FBI, obviously, since Patrick knew we were talking about WITSEC. I’m pretty confident it’s not Eddy, so we had a chat with him while he stepped out of the office this afternoon. He’s looking into things on his end, but has agreed not to speak with anyone in his office about us. Off the record, there’s an investigation happening that involves the FBI here and in Tennessee. He couldn’t tell us details.”
