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Nic came at me with a gun.
I shot Nic.
A sob leaks out.
I shot Nic! I shot Jamie’s boyfriend! Will I get arrested?
Where is Barrett?
I want Barrett!
Someone rubs my back as I cry, hunched over the table. The hand stops. I hear someone come in and look up to see Dove. His lips are pressed together and his arms are crossed.
As his eyes move over mine and Michael’s, he uncrosses his arms. “Talked to someone. Brothers. Wife,” he waves at me, “we have a right to updates. Bear’s in surgery. They cauterized the artery right after he got here, so the bleeding’s stopped. He’s getting blood. The surgery they’re doing isn’t major. Mostly on his trachea, they told me. And they think he’s stable now.”
I see him hold Michael’s eyes, and even though Dove’s aren’t soft or emotional, I can feel that he is checking his friend over, making sure he’s okay. Michael nods, and Dove’s gaze shifts to my face.
“Gwenna, do you want to be here? One of us can take you home.”
I don’t even realize I’ve stood up until I notice how close my face is to Dove’s. “You aren’t taking me home!” My voice shakes. “You can’t make me leave. I’ve never even seen you.”
“Whoa, now—”
“I don’t know you, but I know Barrett. Maybe everything is all messed up with us. I know—” my voice breaks. “I know he might have…” I shake my head as tears fall down my cheeks. “I still want him to be okay, though. And alive.” I give a fragile little laugh, devoid of humor.
“I’m not leaving till I know he’s okay and he doesn’t want me here. I’m not going to force my presence on him—”
I hear someone chuckle and look back at Michael.
His brows wiggle. “Force.” He’s looking smirky.
“Yes, I said I wouldn’t—”
Dove’s hand closes on my arm. I look from Michael to him. “Sit down, Gwenna. You’re shaking and I’m worried that you’re going to fall. Barrett would kill both of us.”
I end up on the exam table, my feet dangling off, feeling sick and leaking tears, looking out at Bear’s two good friends.
“Sorry.” I cup my face in my hands so I don’t embarrass myself further. “You can leave me in here and just give me updates. I’ll come out,” I sob, “in just a little bit—” my body quivers on another sob— “to hear…if…he’s okay.”
I can feel Dove stepping closer, his hand touch down on my back. He pulls me up against him and I can’t help it— I let him, and I cry into his flannel shirt. Bear’s friends. If they were at his house, they know him; they love him. They’re the ones he wanted with him, not me.
“It’s a shame how this went down,” I hear one of them say.
“You’re a good person, Gwenna.” That’s Dove. I can tell because he’s right beside me. “Staying here. You couldn’t force your presence on him in a million years. He’ll wake up and I know he’d love to see you. He went over there for you. He feels so sorry for what happened.”
“It’s okay. I’m okay. I’ll get over it. I understand—his feelings… All the guilt.” I lift my face and look from Dove to Michael. “I know why he came to Gatlinburg and bought the house. He got in…too far. Just like I did.”
Michael steps closer, his eyes warm on mine. “How do you feel about him, Gwenna? Do you hate him?”
I laugh. “Hate him! Barrett?” I smile sadly, wiping stray tears from my cheeks. “I still love him. I get that he—”
“He loves you.” Michael’s eyes are heavy on my face. “Barrett loves you, Gwenna, and he feels like shit. He didn’t mean to get in with you like he did. It was a group secret, and one he wasn’t supposed to ever tell. He didn’t want to tell you. He thought he could make it up to you. Make you love him and make your life good, so maybe that wouldn’t matter. Could be in the past. Do you understand that what he told you put…” He shakes his head. “He told you because he loves you. He was worried, and he knew that it would make you hate him, but he also knew he needed to protect you.”
I’m crying again. “I don’t get it.” I look from Dove to Michael, suddenly afraid. “Should I be worried. Like…”
“It’s settled, Gwenna. Bear turned himself in, in Colorado. It’s all settled.”
My pulse races. “He hasn’t called me.”
