Page 185 of Brighter Together

He settles me against his chest.

For the first time all day, I let myself relax.

My brother may hate me.

My parents may decide I have betrayed them.

Tomorrow might bring phone calls I don’t want to answer and consequences I can’t predict.

But today, when Lee expected me to protect him again, I didn’t.

I told the truth.

I spoke to the police.

And whatever happens next, that decision was mine.

Epilogue

Tommy

“Ella, look at me.”

Her fingers are digging into my shoulders hard enough to leave marks, but I don’t care.

We are standing on a platform high above a river in New Zealand, strapped together for a tandem bungee jump, and the woman who has spent the last two days telling everyone within earshot that this is on her bucket list is currently shaking so badly the buckles on both our harnesses are rattling. Her legs are wrapped tightly around my waist, and I feel a little like I’m being hugged by a very anxious koala.

“Ella-Bella, look at me.”

She lifts her head from my neck.

There are tears in her eyes. “I hate this,” she hisses.

“You loved it five minutes ago.”

“I was an idiot five minutes ago.”

The instructor laughs quietly beside us.

Ella points at him. “Don’t encourage him.”

Despite everything, I laugh.

That gets the tiniest smile out of her.

Yesterday she made me promise that when we got up here, I wouldn’t let nerves talk her out of something she has wanted to do for years.

At the time, I agreed far too easily.

Now, with her breathing coming too quickly and her entire body trembling against mine, that promise feels considerably more complicated.

“Breathe with me.”

I take a slow breath.

Ella tries to copy me.

Again.