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Addy leans forward in her seat as well. “What do you mean it’s our dad? What’s wrong? Did something happen to him, too?”
Everyone else throws their own questions out, and I can’t focus on any of them because my attention is glued to Jack, hoping he’ll make sense of all this. Everyone around me is confused, and I can feel the panic rising in my friends.
Suddenly, all I feel is clarity and then pure rage. It only takes my brain a few seconds to piece it all together.
He fucking did it.
All of it.
I don’t need to have Jack say anything because I know down in my fucking bone marrow. He’s why Andrew has so many secrets. It’s why he’s so closed off. This is why the man I love is so fucking broken.
It feels like I’m underwater. Jack’s words are muffled and distant over the ringing in my ears. Suddenly, Andrea cries out. I’ve never heard a sound so painful and soul deep, and it brings me back to focus. The voices in the car come back to me.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Nathan roars.
The car is in total chaos with everyone screaming over each other. All of them demand answers from a shell-shocked and pissed off Jack.
“Pull over,” I say with as much calm as I can muster, but no one seems to hear me. “Pull over,” I say again, feeling two-point-five fucking seconds from losing my ever-loving shit, and still, no one hears me. “PULL THE FUCK OVER!”
The car goes eerily silent as Nathan makes his way to the shoulder of the road. Nervous glances in the car do nothing to calm my racing heart and nerves. The tires cross the ridges on the side of the road warning you you’re about to veer off the side. I bolt out of the car as soon as we slow to a stop.
HONK! A long car horn blows, and I feel the breeze from the passing cars, but I can’t see any of them.
“What the fuck, Charlie!” A firm hand grabs me around the arm and yanks me back.
I tug my arm off the grip and run to the other side of the car where there’s open land. Everything is spinning out of control, and I don’t know how to stop it.
I pull at my hair and let out a long, guttural scream from deep in my chest, right where that ache has taken up residence.
A set of arms wrap around me and pulls me in. Andrea’s front to my back. Her chin comes to rest on my shoulder as her arms tighten, feeling as though she’s the only thing holding my heart in place from trying to pound its way out of my chest.
I wipe my tears and turn in Andrea’s embrace. Everyone else stands by the car. Nathan has his arms around a distraught Addy, and Jack looks like he’s barely holding himself in place. I know he wants to comfort Andrea, and I feel incredibly guilty for being in the way. This isn’t about me. It’s about them. Their entire world has just blown up in a spectacular fashion, and Andrea is over here comforting me.
I look into her eyes and all I see is devastation. It doesn’t feel like that word is enough to encompass the pain in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Andrea,” I choke out as I hold her as tight as I can.
She sags against me. This woman is the strongest woman I know. She’s been through hell and back, and it isn’t over yet, but she continues to stay strong for everyone else.
Well, no more. It’s my turn to be strong for her. For Andrew. I straighten and run my hands down her arms, gripping her hands in mine.
“Come on. We need to get to him. I’m sorry I’m holding us up.”
More guilt settles in my belly. We don’t have time to waste, and here I am having a complete meltdown on the side of the road.
She blows out a shaky breath. “It’s okay. I understand.”
We both turn and hightail it back to the car. As soon as she’s in reaching distance of Jack, he envelops her in his arms and burrows his face into the side of her neck. She wraps her arms around him and holds on tightly.
My heart hurts. What they’ve already been through is enough for one lifetime, and now we’ve uncovered that the one person they’re supposed to be able to trust in life is the one responsible for all their pain. All their heartache.
To say it’s devastating would be a vast understatement.
Nathan is still comforting Addy when everyone seems to pull back at once. We all exchange a look, one of overwhelming sadness but also one that promises vengeance and justice. With that one fortifying look, we pile back in the car. Nathan wastes no time pulling out and merging with traffic. It’s silent for a few minutes, everyone still trying to comprehend the bomb that just went off.
Addy is the first to break the silence. “Jack, tell us everything on there.”
He looks at Andrea, silently asking for the okay, and she nods once in acceptance. We don’t want to hear any of it, but we don’t have a fucking choice. I reach over to take Andrea’s hand, and in turn, she reaches over to take Addy’s. We’re a united front, ready to face pure evil.
