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Brynn’s heart tore at her daughter’s words. I love him too. And maybe that’s what this was really about. Maybe she’d blown this out of proportion because he’d hurt her, and loving him meant leaving her vulnerable. The longer they were together and the stronger her feelings grew for him, the more power he’d have to cause her irreparable hurt. So, instead, she ran, destroying them in the process.
Her eyes slammed closed. I can’t believe I told him he was like Paul. Aaron was nothing like her ex. Nothing like the men of her past. So why did I lump him in with them?
I won’t let you go. Aaron’s promise whispered in her mind. This past week he’d shown up to the diner and the bookstore three times trying to get her to talk. She’d ignored him and walked to her apartment, not taking the keys to her car when he offered. She’d had Pippa follow her there to leave it while Aaron was at work. She left it at his house, along with all the jewelry and clothes he’d bought her. I am prideful.
Each time he’d looked more defeated. He hadn’t been back in four days. Because he’s finally given up.
Tears tracked down her cheeks. She wiped them away, but more kept coming.
“Mom?” Dani’s voice brought her back to the present.
Brynn sniffed and forced a smile. “I’ll be okay. You’ve given me a lot to think about. You should go before you’re late for the bus.”
“I can skip a day and stay with you,” Dani offered.
Brynn shook her head. “No, I’ve got to get to work soon anyways. You go to school. I’ll be fine.”
Dani finished her breakfast while Brynn got busy making herself some tea that would no doubt be as tasteless as everything else had been this week. She kissed her daughter goodbye and watched from the window as Dani boarded the bus to school. Only then did she let herself break down, a sob tearing from her gut.
“What is wrong with me?” she demanded. “Why did I push him away when he’s the best thing that ever happened to me?” Tears streamed down her face. “Why am I so messed up? He loved me despite everything. And I hurt him.”
She lay on the bed, curling into a ball, her regret leaking from her eyes. She hadn’t saved her sister. She’d stayed long enough to inflict lasting scars on Dani; her daughter would have trauma from the childhood she’d endured at the compound. A good man had come into their life, given more than anyone else may have in their situation, and what had Brynn done but thrown it in his face?
Was it even possible to fix the mess she’d made? Or had she ruined her chance at happily ever after for good?
