My jaw tightened, and I changed course, making one of my father’s lies perfectly clear. “You and Adam hadnothingto do with me getting that far. I—It was my fault for picking that fight with Travis. You know that, right?”
“I know what your dad said wasn’t true.” She nodded, holding my gaze as tightly as I held onto her hand. “Butyoudidn’t deserve what they did, either. You know that, too, right?”
“Yeah,” I muttered, unsure if I said it because I believed it or to put her mind at ease.
I’d stiffened into a seated position without realizing it, and pain shot through my ribs.
Sagging back onto the couch cushions, I released a breath. “God, my dad’s such a prick.”
Addie nodded again, and we sat quietly together, lost in our thoughts before she spoke again. “You know…I forget, sometimes, that you’re not technically ours.”
She blushed furiously, scrunching her nose and looking away as if that might hide it or erase what she’d said. My heart beat wildly in my chest.
“I mean, we all wish you were, especially after witnessing how he reacted last night.”
Nothing could ease the tightness in my chest, the way it filled almost to the point of bursting, so I pressed her hand into my breastbone and croaked out, “Me too, kid.”
She opened her mouth to say something before she wrinkled her nose and shifted her gaze to a spot beside us. Her brow furrowed as she slowly withdrew her hand from mine. When she stood, she pointed to something on the floor.
“I should probably let them know you’re awake. Your backpack’s there. Do you want to see if you can stand to use the bathroom…or whatever you need to do?”
I nodded, unsure of her abrupt withdrawal. But then a thought occurred to me. Sitting up, I left a spot open for her beside me and jerked my chin toward my backpack.
“Hey, can you hand me that?”
When she handed the backpack to me, I gestured for her to sit down. Unzipping the front pocket, I pulled out what I’d stowed there after the graduation ceremony. I’d been planning to give it to her when we got back to their house—beforeI blew up our night.
I set a small, poorly wrapped gift box in her hands.
Her eyes lit up, and as she unwrapped the paper with more care than it probably deserved, the smile returned to her face. She lifted the top off and peered inside, reaching in to take the simple white gold chain in her hands.
Her fingers tangled in the braided cord before rubbing the small pendant—a tiny elephant with its trunk curled upward—I’d added to match the charm bracelet she’d get from her parents and Adam later today.
Leaning forward, I pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “Happy Birthday, Addie.”
“Blake,” she breathed, still staring at the necklace as her cheeks warmed. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
I took the necklace from her and held it up. She turned around and lifted her hair off her shoulders. I brought the thin chain around in front of her, connecting the clasp and brushing my hand over where it rested at the nape of her neck. Goose bumps erupted down her spine, and I told myself to pull my hand away.
But she was warm, and her skin felt so soft. It took me longer than expected to do it.
She released a breath when I did and turned around to face me. Bright blue-green eyes met mine as her fingers ran down the delicate chain to clutch the charm. “How does it look?”
I smiled. “Perfect.”
Pressing her hand over the necklace, she returned my smile. For a moment, we both just sat there quietly. The hurt from my foolish words faded between us, not completely gone but not deep enough to outweigh the rest.
And even though bruises riddled my body, and I ached with pain, it felt like everything would be okay.
6
ADDIE
SUMMER BEFORE FRESHMAN YEAR, JUNE 2017, AGE 18
As Dad pulled up in front of our new apartment complex, I peered out the window to stare at it.
A few students passed through the front gate, and my belly twisted with a mix of nervous and excited anticipation. It seemed impossible that summer was almost halfway over, and that the start of my summer semester during freshman year rapidly approached.
