“I heard the front door go.” She pulls her phone out from the front pocket of her hoody and quickly types a text. “I’ll ask Ethan,” she says.
“I just hate feeling like this.”
Charlotte grabs my hand. “And I hate seeing you like this. You really like him, don’t you?”
Her phone buzzes, and she lets go of my hand to read it. Her fingers fly over the screen before she drops it back on the bed and grabs my hand again.
“Ethan took him for a drive so that they could talk.”
I dip my chin. “I’m glad he’s not alone,” I admit.
She gives me a soft smile. “I know.”
My tongue swipes over my bottom lip before I answer her earlier question.
“I don’t like him, Char. I love him.”
And then I burst out crying again.
“Oh, Vi.”
She continues to squeeze my hand, murmuring words of comfort, but somewhere along the way, I must zone out or drift off to sleep, the day catching up with me, because the next time I open my eyes, I’m alone in the bed.
Pushing myself up, I make my way to the bathroom across the hall and blink as I switch on the light and stare at my reflection. My eyes are red and puffy from crying, and now I can see slight bruising near my stitches and my swollen lip. I relieve myself and splash my face with water, carefully avoiding my stitches.
When I come back out, Ethan is coming up the stairs. “Lottie made dinner,” he says, standing with me on the landing.
I wrap my arms around myself. “I’m not hungry.”
He reaches up and cups my shoulder. “I know, but Lottie said you need to eat something with the painkillers.”
She’s right, of course, I’ve always had a sensitive stomach, and they are pretty strong.
“Yeah, she’s right,” I say.
Ethan bends his knees as he lowers his head so we’re almost at eye level.
“She always is, but don’t tell her I said that,” he says with a knowing look, reminding me so much of Nathan. I know they’re cousins, but sometimes they’re closer to brothers in mannerisms and appearances.
“Was he okay?” I ask, my voice strained.
Ethan looks over my shoulder before holding my gaze again.
“He’s not great, feeling guilty at the minute.”
I wince, hating that Nathan is pushing me away.
“But he’ll come around, Vi. His head is just all over the place. And if I thought for one minute you getting hurt was intentional, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You’re my family now, too, and we protect our own.”
“Thank you.” It’s times like this I wish more than anything Max was still here, but, of course, fate had other ideas. It’s not something we have control over. I get that now more than ever. And I’m grateful to the powers that be that Ethan found Lottie, because it also led me to Nathan.
He runs a hand through his hair. “Nathan has always been the most sensitive one of all of us. He might act like nothing bothers him, but he feels deeply and hides it well.”
I nod. “Yeah, I know.”
He opens his arms, and I go into them willingly.
“Just give him time to figure it out,” he says, rubbing my back gently, considering his size.
