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“Leo,” Sean says, getting up. “Let’s get out of here.”
They leave as Tara comes into the room. She stands a few feet from the bed, like she’s afraid to get near me.
“Jake, I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
“For letting this happen. It’s my fault. I should’ve deleted your messages. I knew if Troy found them, he’d hurt the guy who sent them.”
“Hey, don’t be taking the blame for this. I’m the one who went to see Troy. And he’s the one who stabbed me. That was his decision. You had nothing to do with it.”
“I did. By getting involved with you. I knew Troy would do something if he ever found out, but I kept seeing you. Letting you think we could be more than just friends.”
“Did you want that? Did you want us to be more than friends?”
“I wanted that more than anything. But Troy wouldn’t let me go. He’d get mad if I even looked at another guy. When he threatened to kill whoever sent me those texts, I had to stay away from you. I didn’t want Troy thinking we were even friends.”
“How long has this been going on? How long has he been hurting you?”
“It started a couple weeks after we started dating. I kept making excuses for him, thinking he was just in a bad mood or that I said something to make him mad.”
“That’s what he wanted. For you to make excuses for him. My mom did the same thing. Tara, you can’t go back to him. You know that, right?”
“I never want to see him again. I’m hoping they’ll lock him up. He tried to kill you, Jake. He can’t get away with that. I’ve been trying to find him, but it’s like he just disappeared. He won’t answer my calls or text me back.”
“Stop contacting him. And don’t try to find him. He’s dangerous, Tara. You need to stay away from him. Let the cops find him.”
“What if they don’t?”
“They will. Troy doesn’t have his car. He can’t go very far.”
“He could steal a car.”
“I hope he does. Driving around in a stolen car will make it easier for the cops to find him. Tara, you should think about telling the cops what Troy did to you. It’d be another reason for them to lock him up.”
“You know it doesn’t work that way. Look at your parents. It took your dad almost killing your mom before they’d arrest him.”
She’s right, but I still want her to tell the cops what Troy did to her. It might help them build a case against him, proving he’s violent and needs to be behind bars.
“So what happens now?” I say.
She shrugs. “We hope they find Troy and arrest him.”
“I’m not talking about Troy. I’m talking about us.”
She looks down, not saying anything.
“Tara, get over here.” I wait for her to come closer. “I don’t blame you for what happened, and I don’t want you to ever think that. It was never your job to protect me. And what Troy did to you was not your fault. I need you to believe that.”
“It’s not that easy. Troy had me convinced—”
“I know. But he was wrong. You never should’ve been with him. You should’ve been with a guy who cares about you. And loves you. If you want to be with that guy, I’m right here. You just need to tell me you want this.”
Her eyes rise to mine. “You know I do. I never wanted you to go away.”
“So what are you saying? That we’re back together?”
She smiles. “We’re back together.”
