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That made so much sense. Perfect sense.
I threw my hands in the air again and paced in a circle.
The phone. The text.
The picture.
My dad.
God. My dad. How he looked . . .
I knew when that picture was taken, and I knew who took it. There was only one person who could’ve—“Did Alex tell you why I moved here? My mom and I.”
The confusion left him, and something more serious took its place. Darker. He leaned forward slightly, slowly. “Something happened with your ex. There was a bully situation. Something like that.”
“My dad? Did he say anything about him?” My voice was hurting. Rasping. I felt as if I were choking from the inside out.
He shook his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “Just that he’s not in the picture anymore. I assumed there was a nasty divorce.”
Divorce.
Right.
“My dad was assaulted, and the night that happened, someone took a picture of him. That’s what got sent to me tonight.”
He jerked forward. “Are you serious?” He started for me.
I stepped back from his intensity, from the moment, from what I was feeling twisting inside me. “Yeah.”
“That’s fucked up, Ramsay.”
Ramsay. He said my name.
I didn’t know why I was fixating on that right now, why that was important to me, but it was.
I liked hearing him say my name.
“Will you give us a ride home?” My voice was so soft I almost didn’t hear myself.
I felt so small in that moment.
Tiny.
Like I didn’t want to exist.
I wasn’t looking at him, but I heard his rough, “Yeah.” He coughed, speaking more clearly, “Yeah. I can do that.”
I still didn’t look at him. I didn’t know why. Another item on the list of things that didn’t make sense to me, but I nodded in response to him, and he opened the door.
I went through it.
He followed for a step or two before going around me and saying to Cohen, “We’re taking off.”
I blinked a few times, trying clear my vision. Cohen was leaning against a counter in the kitchen, his arms crossed. His legs too. Kira was next to him, her hands behind her on the counter, as if she were doing reverse push-ups. Ciara was on the island, her legs swinging. Gem was behind her, sitting on a stool, a guy next to her, and their heads were bent together. Gem was giggling.
I let that wash over me. I liked hearing that.
But at Scout’s no-nonsense bark, Gem’s head jerked up. The laughter died when she saw me, concern filling it. Cohen didn’t react except nod and push up from the counter.
Ciara chirped, waving a hand, “Nice seeing you tonight!”
Kira cast her a frown before coming over. “You okay?”
I nodded, not quite staring at her. I focused between her eyes, and she seemed appeased by that because her shoulders lowered and she nodded to herself before bending and whispering, “Did you guys . . . you know . . . do it?”
Jesus.
Of course that was what they’d think.
I swallowed tightly and shook my head. “No. We were talking about Alex.”
She angled her head back, getting a better look at me. “Serious?”
Of course she didn’t believe me. I nodded, trying to let her see I was telling the truth. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“Your hair is wet.”
Shit again. “I kinda had a freak out. It’s—family stuff. Scout knows cause of Alex, but no one else.”
Understanding clicked, and I saw the relief flash in her eyes. “Gotcha. I’m so sorry.”
“Williams.” Cohen made a motion before turning and gently pushing Gem out the door. Scout had already gone out. I picked up my pace because when they said they were leaving, they meant they were leaving. There was no lingering behind for goodbyes. Good to know.
Gem waited for me outside, hitting my side and staying there. “You okay?” she whispered, her hand finding mine and squeezing it.
I didn’t have the heart to lie, but I didn’t want to tell her the truth. “I’m okay.” That was all I could manage.
“You sure?”
I nodded, giving her a smile. “Some family stuff just popped up for me. I’ll be okay, though. I mean it.”
“You can talk to me, you know.”
“I know.” I really did. I felt it in that moment. Maybe it would pass. Maybe I’d go back to not trusting anyone but family, but in that moment, I really did feel like I could tell Gem everything. I just didn’t because I didn’t want to crumble. Not tonight, not more than I already had. “Thank you.”
She stopped and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight. “I’m here for you.”
I stood, surprised, until slowly, my arms lifted and I hugged her back. “Thank you.”
Gah. I was a mess.
Who was I? I didn’t remember this Ramsay. I used to be like Kira, top girl in the grade. No sad emotions like this, and here I was, choking back some tears because a girl who liked me, declared we were friends was now hugging me, telling me she had my back.
