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The fuck?
A few more words were exchanged, but JP missed them over the storm raging in his ears. She wanted to go there? What the hell for? To sit in the hospital and be chastised for something that wasn’t her doing? To be criticized and fed poison about him and his family?
No. Hell no. He wasn’t about to let her insert herself smack in the middle of this dysfunctional mess.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m heading straight to the airport.”
They shared a strained goodbye then Hannah practically leaped from the bed. “I hate to have to ask this,” she said as she searched the floor for her pants. “But could you give me a ride to the airport? My car is at my place, and I don’t want to waste time going there first.”
She didn’t look him in the eye. Instead, she hopped on one foot while shoving the other in her pant leg. Because she knew he would disapprove?
“No,” he said, then took a breath. Losing his shit now wouldn’t help anything, but the thought of Hannah walking into that mess only to become the sacrificial lamb had his blood boiling.
She froze, bent over with one leg in her pants, then straightened. “What?”
JP climbed out of bed and strode over to her. When he reached her, he cupped her shoulders and looked her right in the eye. “I don’t think you should go.”
“What do you mean?” Confusion wrinkled her nose.
“I mean, I think you should stay here in Vermont with me. Hannah, you need to show them that you can’t be manipulated. You need to stand firm and not let them control you. Do you know what’s going to happen when you get home? They’re going to blame you for shit that’s not your fault because that seems to be your mom’s method of choice. And you, being the kind, sweet, incredible person, you will take on that guilt and twist yourself into knots, trying to be what they want you to be.” He almost had to bite his tongue to keep more from falling out of his mouth. With each word he spoke, Hannah’s expression grew more incredulous. But he couldn’t hold his feelings on the matter in. This was too important.
He loved her, and part of that meant wanting, needing to protect her from hurt, be it physical or emotional. And going home would hurt her heart in deep, bloody ways. That much he knew for certain.
Shaking her head, Hannah took a step back, out of his hold. “I can’t believe what you’re saying right now.”
He stepped forward, but she held up a hand, warding him off. It felt like a punch to the gut. “Hannah, you’re upset. Of course, you’re upset. Anyone would be, but I think if you take a step back and then look at the situation, you’ll agree with me.”
“I’ll agree with you,” she said in a tone he’d never heard from her before. A combination of disbelief and disgust. “I’ll agree that I shouldn’t go see my mother, who is in the hospital after crashing head-on into a tree. That’s what you’re telling me?”
Shit, this was heading downhill fast. “I just mean—”
She scoffed and continued as though she hadn’t heard him. “If Jag or Keith crashed their car and ended up in the hospital, I’m pretty sure you’d do anything to get to their bedside. I can’t believe you right now. You honestly think I wouldn’t want to go there?” She looked at him as though she’d never seen him before.
A sick feeling twisted his stomach. “No,” he said, taking one step toward her. “I don’t think that. I think you would do anything for your family. But I also think they know that, and I think your mom isn’t above using the situation to her advantage. So I think you should stay.”
“This is unbelievable.” She gathered her hair up and secured it with a rubber band. Turning away from him, she found her sandals then sat on the edge of the bed to strap her feet in. “I’m going. I’ll get myself to the airport.”
“Hannah,” he said as desperation began to claw its way into his chest. If she left, would she come back? “As scary and upsetting as this is, knowing she isn’t critically injured… well, maybe this is for the best. Maybe this incident will be the start of her getting the help she needs.”
A harsh, disbelieving bark of laughter left her as she stood from the bed. “Maybe my mother potentially attempting to end her life is a good thing?”
He swallowed. Shit. “I didn’t mean—"
She snatched her purse off his dresser. “If this is your definition of love, no wonder you’ve never had a relationship.”
He reared back, feeling those words slap across his face. Not once had he heard a nasty comment fall from Hannah’s lips. To have her first harsh words directed at him broke something in him. He’d given her his heart. The one thing he’d kept locked away from everyone but his siblings. To have her throw it back in her face cut him to the core.
