Page 53 of ’Til You Break

Fuck that.

I go after her and catch up just as she steps through the front door. The night air hits me as I follow her outside. She’s already beside a foreign sedan when I reach the porch.

A man climbs out of the driver’s seat. Tall. Clean-cut. Well dressed. His face softens the moment he sees her. In another life, a man like him might have been exactly what Hannah needed. He could’ve offered her stability. Quiet evenings. A family. Everything I can’t.

He smiles at her.

For the first time since Hannah moved in, I understand exactly what I stand to lose. I storm down the front steps and grab her wrist before she has a chance to hug him.

“What the fuck?” the doctor blurts.

His Adam’s apple bobs as he takes two hurried steps backward, both hands raised.

“Let go of me!” Hannah yanks her arm free. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Hannah, is there a problem here?” the doctor asks before I have a chance to answer.

“Not yet. Open your mouth again and there will be.” I don’t take my eyes off Hannah as I speak.

“Take it easy, pal. We’re just going out for dinner. After everything that’s happened to Hannah, I thought she’d appreciate a nice—”

“One more word.” I raise a finger until it’s barely an inch from his face. “I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life.”

Wisely, the doctor says nothing.

“Holy shit, Vik, stop this. You’re embarrassing me.” She’s mortified. Her cheeks are even redder than her lipstick as her gaze darts between us.

To hell with embarrassment. She’s tearing me apart. And I’ve had enough.

“Come back inside, Hannah.” Giving orders instead of letting her make her own choice isn’t the right approach.

But standing back while she goes off with another man is a line I refuse to cross.

“No.”

She moves closer to the doctor.

“This is too much, Vik. I need a break.”

I don’t answer. Nothing I say will change what’s happening.

“Let’s get out of here.” She recognizes my silence for what it is and turns it to her advantage.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” the doctor says as he reaches for the driver’s door.

It’s all slipping away from me, isn’t it? My attempts to change came too late, and she’s lost interest. My pursuit of my mother’s killers has cost me more than I ever imagined. It has crushed any hope of love, family and friendship beneath the weight of bringing her justice.

This, however, is the first loss that cuts me to the bone.

I watch Hannah edge around the front of the car, putting distance between us. Her doctor hurries toward the driver’s door, eager to leave before I make good on my threats.

I fucked up. But I’m not giving up.

“Hannah,” I call down the driveway. “I’m trying to make it up to you.”

“You had your chance,” she says. “But you chose to treat me like a glorified sex doll instead.”

The doctor is already inside his car with the door shut. Good. I wouldn’t want him listening while we air our dirty laundry.