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Chloe unlocks the door, and Tiffany joins us.
Her white-blonde hair is flowing around her shoulders.
A pink shirt is now untucked, probably thanks to my brother.
Tiny white shorts are shedding sand, and cute tan wedges make her legs look a mile long. She looks completely put together and the exact opposite of how I just saw myself in the mirror.
“How are you feeling, Natalie? I know we keep asking you this, but right now, it’s just us girls. Your insane brother and the guys downstairs don’t have to be told anything you say. Nobody is going to get beaten to death. It stays here if you want it to.”
Tiffany pauses for a beat.
She leans her body against the sink and glances at her feet before asking the question I know everyone has been thinking. “Do we need to call a doctor? Do you need to go to the hospital and get checked out? They can do things there, but we have to go tonight, and you shouldn’t shower or change if that’s what you decide you want to do.
“My mom is the Chairman of the Board for the hospital back home. If you want, I can call her. I’m sure we can drive there tonight. I know she could pull some strings so that everything can be kept quiet and out of the news.”
Oh. My. God.
I hadn’t even thought about the press getting wind of any of this. I know what Tiffany is trying to ask without coming straight out and saying it.
“Thanks. I think I’m alright. I stopped him before he got what he wanted. It scared me, but I think I did more physical damage to Darby than he did to me. My knuckles hurt worse than anything else. And maybe my pride. I guess I was lucky. Tonight could have been so much worse.” I’m trying to hold back the tears now, but a few slips down my cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, Nat. I should have told you not to go to the beach by yourself with Darby. I heard he was a player, but I would never have thought he was anything more than that.” Chloe is crying now too. She pulls me into a big hug.
Tiffany raises her voice, sounding annoyed. “Chloe Ryan, do not take any of the blame here. This is not your fault, and it is not Natalie’s fault. This happened because Darby Stafford is an overgrown toddler in a grown man’s body who does not know what the word no means. No one should be taking any ownership of what happened tonight besides him.” She sounds like a pissed off schoolteacher, and I feel bad for judging her when we first met. I hold my arm out for Tiffany to join our girl hug, and the three of us just stand there for a few minutes.
Unsurprisingly, Chloe has to try to break the silence with laughter. “Ladies. As much as I love a good girl hug, I think if we are going to touch each other at all, we should at least do it in front of Murphy. It would be the highlight of his night.” Her words hang dead in the air for a minute. “Too soon?”
Tiffany looks from Chloe to me. Her eyebrows wrinkle, and I think she is trying not to smile. “Well, maybe?” It comes out like a question instead of a statement, and I can’t hold it back anymore.
I start to laugh.
We all do.
We laugh hard and long.
I let the laughter outweigh the tears. It’s cathartic. We stay in the bathroom for a while before deciding it’s time to face my brother and the guys.
Tonight could have been so much worse than it was.
I refuse to let this moment define me.
I will not give him that kind of power.
This is my year of growth.
My year to find myself and the person I want to be.
I am stronger than I knew I was a day ago, and I refuse to let Darby Stafford ruin me.
16
Brady
I’m watching Nat walk up the stairs with Chloe following behind, and it is physically hurting me not to follow her just to make sure she’s is safe. I can hear Cooper roaring outside at Tiffany. She is trying to calm him down, but it doesn’t sound like it’s working. Looking up, I see Murphy and Sebastian come in. The two of them are leaning against the half-wall, separating the kitchen from this room.
No one makes any move to talk. We all stay quiet, stuck deep in our thoughts.
After a few minutes Tiffany walks in and stands in the middle of the room. She looks around at the three of us, before settling her eyes on Bash. “Cooper isn’t ready to come in yet. I want to go upstairs and check on Natalie and Chloe. Can one of you guys please talk to him? He’s not listening to me. He’s too angry right now, and he’ll feel awful later if he upsets her even more. He has to get it under control before she walks back down those stairs. I’ll make sure she stays up there for a few more minutes.”
