Page 107 of Bend

I look at her then, really look at her. Guilty, worried, waiting for me to decide whether this changes everything.

“It hurt finding out you’d kept all that from me,” I say. “But despite everything, I’m glad it was you.”

Her brows pull together slightly. “What?”

“I’m glad it was you who dragged me out of my bloody shell.” I look toward the water, where Wolfe is standing alone near the surf. “You made me realize there’s nothing wrong with how I feel. That I’m allowed to be myself, even if I’m still working out what the fuck that means.”

Her expression softens.

“And you made it feel okay to want him,” I add quietly. “To want Wolfe without treating it like something I should be ashamed of.”

Her face softens. “Thorne—”

“Don’t make it soppy.”

A small smile pulls at her mouth. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good.”

I shift beside her, shoulder brushing hers.

“Thing is,” I say, staring toward the shoreline, “I’ve got no bloody clue what to do now.”

“With your feelings for Wolfe?”

“Yeah.”

She follows my gaze.

Wolfe’s still down by the water with his phone held out in front of him. His family called while we were all sitting around the fire, and he wandered off to take it somewhere quieter.

Makes sense. He’s close with them. Proper close. The sort of family who actually ring on birthdays instead of sending a lazy text and calling it a day.

Even from here, I can see the difference in him. The way his shoulders have dropped. The way he’s smiling at the screen like whoever’s on the other end has managed to pull him a thousand miles closer to home.

“I don’t know how to talk to him without making a complete tit of myself,” I admit. “Or saying the wrong thing and making this whole bloody mess worse.”

Echo is quiet for a second.

“Well, you could always start by telling him the truth.”

I glance at her. “That simple, is it?”

“No.” Her smile fades into something softer. “But it’s something he needs to hear. Tell him the truth. That you want him, and you don’t know what the hell any of it means yet, but you don’t regret how you feel or what's gone on between you two.”

I look down toward the water again.

“And if he’s done waiting for me to sort my head out?”

“He isn’t.”

“You can’t know that.”

Echo gives me a look like I’m being deliberately thick. “You’re not the only one who talks to me, Thorne.”

That gets my attention.

She folds her arms. “Wolfe trusts me too, especially about how he feels for you. He’s not done waiting. He’s hurting just as much as you are.”