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Tessa spins around to face us, and it’s obvious she’s been crying. She tries to dry her face but it’s futile.
“I’m okay, I swear. I’m better now.”
Delaney looks over at Lennon. “You knew about this?”
“I had my suspicions, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Ugh, stop! I’m fine!” Tessa comes over to me and grips the front of my shirt. “Asher, tell them. Tell them I’m okay.”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, Tess. I can’t.”
I can’t, because everything is becoming increasingly clear by the second. The incident with her uncle caused catastrophic trauma. The guys at the frat party intensified it. Finding out about her dad pushed her to a breaking point. The fire. She was inside the house, sitting on the floor like the place wasn’t burning down around her. It finally hits me—she had no intention of leaving.
“I think we need to get you help,” I tell her.
She pushes me away in an instant. “You’re supposed to love me!”
“I do love you!” I argue. “And it’s because I love you that I’m saying this.”
“Fuck this. I’m leaving.”
Lennon runs over to the elevator and gets there just before Tessa does. She makes no attempt to move, blocking the exit.
“Get out of my way, Lennon.”
“No.” She stands her ground. “I didn’t push harder. I let you cut me out because I thought you were healing in your own way and would talk about it when you were ready. I should have tried harder, and I am so sorry that I didn’t, but I’m not making that mistake again.”
Tears continue to stream down Tessa’s cheeks as she turns around to face her sister. “Laney?”
She sniffles. “Sit down, Tess.”
Reluctantly, and after realizing that Lennon has no plans on letting her out of here, she listens to her sister and flops down on the couch. I stay frozen in place until the sound of Tessa’s sobs make me realize she needs me.
“I haven’t asked you this question, and I think it’s because a part of me was afraid of the answer, but I’m asking you now.” Delaney sits on the coffee table in front of her. “What happened?”
Tess shakes her head, refusing to answer. I walk over and sit beside her.
“If you don’t tell her, I’m going to get Easton over here, and we’ll find out what happened from him.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You hate Easton.”
I nod. “You’re right, I do. But I hate the thought of losing you a million times more.”
Tessa looks over at Lennon, and for the first time since she showed up at the hospital, I see her hard shell start to crack. She comes over and sits on the other side of Tess and holds her hand.
“You won’t like hearing this,” she tells me.
I push a stray hair away from her face. “If you’re afraid of me leaving, you can forget about it. I’m not going anywhere, no matter what comes out of your mouth.”
She sighs and looks down at her lap. “One of the guys who drugged me was at the party,” she starts. “I panicked, and Easton could see it on my face. He and Zayn beat the shit out of the guy and then Easton brought me upstairs to his room.”
As she pauses for a moment, I can already tell where this is going, and fuck it hurts.
“I helped clean a cut on his face and then we were just talking. He started saying stuff about wanting to get back together.” She lets out a shaky breath. “When he kissed me, I tried to push him away, but then he started begging and saying he’s in love with me and I broke. Not because I wanted him, but because hearing those words made me realize how much I wanted to be loved—just not by him. And then I realized it would probably never happen. Not after what Blaire said.”
“I just laid there the whole time, and I don’t even think he realized I was crying or that I wasn’t into it. We were both pretty drunk, but when it was over, he told me where the oxy was so I could get another, and then went downstairs for a drink.”
By this point, all three girls are crying heavily, and there is a tennis ball-sized lump in my throat. I lean over and press a kiss to Tessa’s head, just so she knows I’m not angry. Does it hurt to hear she slept with Easton? Damn right, it does, but we were broken up and she was hurting. Tess looks up at me and I nod, willing her to continue. She drops her head again and exhales.
