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There’d always been so much I’d wanted to tell my parents and couldn’t, like how sorry I was for doubting their intentions.
My stomach squeezed at the thought, and I let out another deep breath.
Things would be okay. I’d help Sadie through this, and we’d go our separate ways.
It was better that way.
I shook my head as if that would convince me of it more and walked out of the office.
Sadie was bounding down the stairs with her laptop folded in her hands.
“How’d it go?” I asked before looking at her expression.
Her eyes met mine but were red-rimmed from tears. “Not that great.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I see that now.”
She handed me her laptop. “Your brother mentioned that you wanted to see this.”
“Oh, thanks.” I took the device from her as she turned down the hall to where I heard her sister and Jaxson talking. “Hey, Sadie?”
She turned around. “Yeah?”
“Did Tim ever call you at the coffee shop?”
Her brows furrowed in confusion, and she shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of. I mean, I didn’t speak to him.”
“Cool.”
Sadie’s head tilted. “Why?”
“I just want to have my ducks in a row when I talk to Officer Carl later.”
She smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Zack. I appreciate it, and I’m sorry for all this trouble my life has caused you.”
“Don’t say that, Sadie. You’re my…” I stopped myself. “No problem.”
“Oh, and I stopped my therapy sessions as of today.” A twinkle bounded through her gaze.
I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Well, congratulations.”
She laughed. “Well, I realized that just talking with you outside earlier made me feel better than months of droning on with her.”
I nodded, smiling and trying to tamp down the spark of hope that erupted. “You have my number.”
Sadie chuckled, turning back around as she went down the hall to her sister. “Oh, and my password is capital Z, small a, c, and k, along with the number 4, and then the word ever.”
I couldn’t hide my smile as I nodded, returning to my office and setting the laptop on my desk.
Typing in her password, I felt a bubbling pressure build in my chest. I didn’t want to find anything that even hinted at my brother being right.
Sadie wasn’t like that.
The idea of someone trying to hurt Sadie didn’t do wonders for my own well-being, but I wanted to believe that I was objective enough to still watch out for cues that could lead us in a surprising direction. I didn’t believe that the direction Melanie and my brother suddenly started down had anything to do with Sadie or her ex.
I puckered my mouth and blew out air as I clicked on the first social media app she used, scrolling through the messages.
I landed on the old message from someone with the initials T.V., no profile picture, and the last message sent years ago. My teeth sank into my lip as I clicked on the message chain and noticed a few innocuous messages going back and forth, reminiscing, but nothing romantic. It wasn’t until I landed on one that caught my eye, asking about dating his brother.
