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“Not now.” I dip my head, trailing my nose against her ear. Her hair tickles my cheek and I inhale her scent, trying to commit it to memory. She shivers but the tension in her body seems to melt.
Digging my toes into the grass, I push the swing back and let go again. Slower this time. “We don’t have to talk now, Emily. Just stay here and sway with me for a little while.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Emily
Serena’s house is quiet the next morning. Baby Lincoln must’ve been exhausted after his big day. I didn’t hear a peep from him at all last night.
Last night.
Swinging with Dex in the backyard, I came close to breaking down. I wanted to beg him to take me back more than I wanted to ask him about all the gross things Swan had said.
At my back, I sense a bundle of energy waiting to pounce. I slowly turn over. Libby’s sitting on the edge of the bed staring at me like a cat waiting for its morning meal.
“It’s too early for this, bright eyes,” I grumble, pulling a pillow over my face.
“But you don’t even know what I want to talk about,” she says with a sassy, yet somehow still innocent, lilt in her voice.
I can guess.
“Do tell,” I mumble into the pillow.
The fluffy safety of my pillow is rudely ripped away.
“What is going on with you and Dex?” Libby demands.
I groan and sit up, squeezing my eyes shut against the sunlight. “None of your business.”
Her gaze drops to her cast and my stomach twists. I throw the covers back and lurch out of bed.
“Do not follow me into the bathroom,” I order in my best big sister tone.
“Nope. I’ll be waiting right here.” She scoots into the bed, rests her back against the pillows, and stretches her legs out in front of her, resting one ankle over the other.
“Brat,” I mumble, ducking into the bathroom between the two guest bedrooms. Why didn’t I lock the connecting doors before I went to sleep?
I eye the opposite door with longing. I could slip out, run downstairs, and avoid this entire conversation.
Except Libby will follow. Or badger me with questions on our way home later. Nope, better to get this over with now.
“All right,” I say, stepping back into the room. “Get whatever’s on your mind out in the open. Before you explode.”
I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the closed bedroom door.
Libby doesn’t waste a second. She shifts her body my way, dangling her feet over the edge of the bed. “Did you and Dex break up?”
“It’s complicated…”
She stares at me, waiting for a full answer.
“Uh, I think, I…It’s just not the right time for me to be in a relationship.” I stammer through the words, even though I know all the excuses by heart. “We’re each better off on our own for now.”
What about what Swan said? Dex won’t be on his own for long. Girls like her are just waiting to service all his needs.
“Did you both decide that?” she asks. “Or did you decide that? Because Dex looked pretty, um, into you when I found you in the back of the church.”
The heat of embarrassment seeps into my pores, spreading from my cheeks to my forehead. “I did.”
She tilts her head and seems to ponder that for a moment. “When and why?”
Dread slithers over me and wraps around my throat.
“He hasn’t been over to the house since I came home from the hospital,” she says, ignoring my silence. “And you’ve been up my butt all day every day—”
“That’s unfair.” We have spent a lot of time together. “Libby, I could’ve lost you. Look how badly hurt Mackenzie was. And Linda has more surgeries ahead of her. The last time we visited, I talked to her mom and—”
“You think I don’t know that?” Libby’s voice cracks. “I think about it every day. Every time I look at this stupid cast, or my arm hurts, or my face itches, I remind myself it could’ve been so much worse.”
Guilt creeps into her tone and I hurry to sit next to her. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yeah, but I knew stuffing all of us in Mac’s car was a dumb idea. Linda wanted me to sit on her lap because she said I’m lighter. But I wouldn’t do it because I knew I’d be safer in the seat.” She holds up her broken arm. “And I was right.”
My stomach lurches. She came so close to being severely injured. I force what I hope is a brave smile onto my face. “I’m glad you were trying to think smart. It still isn’t your fault what happened.”
“I know,” she sighs.
“You shouldn’t have even been there.” I close my eyes briefly. Should I even say this to Libby? “I made a promise to myself when Aunt Kim died. We were all alone in the world. And I swore I’d take care of you. It kills me knowing you tried to call and text me to come pick you up and I was”— tears sting my eyes and I flip my hand in the air trying to force my thought out of my mouth before I lose it— “off with my boyfriend. You’re my priority. You always have been. I should’ve been there when you needed me. I’m so sorry.”
