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The world seemed to stop.
“He saved me the only way he knew how.” I shifted my focus upwards until I met T’s murderous stare. “Youbroke me, don’t you see that?”
Tobias flinched and his chest rose hard, then fell with a heavy breath. I stepped toward them, empty and hollowed and hurting. “They told us you were dead.” Closer still. “And I wanted to die too.”
His throat muscles worked as Tobias swallowed hard. “They told you I was dead?”
Pain lashed deep. I reached out, closing my hand around his clenching Caleb's shirt. “Yes. They wanted me broken, pliable. They wanted to…”
“Ryth,” Caleb whispered.
But I couldn’t meet his stare, because if I did, then I’d fall apart.
“Maybe no more now,” Nick urged, stepping closer. He looked at me, then Tobias. “Let’s just all calm the fuck down so we don’t say shit we’ll regret later. Then tomorrow, when we’ve cooled off, we can talk about this?”
But Tobias didn’t look away, his gaze unflinching. He didn’t know. I saw that now. He had no idea what they’d told us, or what we’d had to do to survive. Or what they did to me. No one did.
I’m going to fuck you until you see stars…
My stomach clenched with the memory of those words.
“Okay, T?” Nick pushed.
“Okay,” Tobias answered.
I sucked in deep breaths, staring at him. It was too late to claw back the things that had been said. I only hoped that, somehow, we’d find a way past them, for all our sakes.
“C?” Nick turned to Caleb.
“Fine,” he said, swiping at a bead of blood that spread out from the corner of his mouth.
Tobias took one look at Caleb before he unfurled his fist from his brother's shirt, then slowly slipped his hand away from mine. “I wouldneverhave let you let near that place,” he said carefully before turning and limping away.
I looked away.
“I’m sorry,” Kit said, coming closer. “This is all my fault.”
And something inside me snapped. I shook my head and turned to her. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. This was going to happen eventually.”
“Well,” Lucas muttered behind us. “Maybe pie might help? Nick grabbed some from Meg’s Diner and she makes the best I’ve ever had. Kit will vouch for that.”
He motioned to the car. “Help us with the groceries…Nick?”
“Sure,” Nick answered, glancing at Caleb before he turned away and headed toward the four-wheel drive once more.
Caleb followed, leaving me to turn and pull Kit into my arms. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
I didn’t know if I was trying to console her or myself. But she hugged me back, then followed me as I trailed the others as they went inside.
Kit cut the pies, which looked decadent and delicious, but I wasn’t hungry. Food was the last thing I wanted. Instead, I carried a piece on a plate to the bedroom we shared and stopped outside the closed door. He needed space, I knew that. But still, knowing he was right there, yet out of reach, hurt. I placed the pie on the floor outside the door and straightened. “There’s pie here for you.”
Thump,the sound of an axe came as I turned and left, meeting Lucas in the middle of the hall, carrying two plates. He handed me one and motioned to the treatment room. “Want to go over some more drugs in case you need them?”
Thump.
“Sure.” I glanced toward the window.
“Nick’s working off some frustration, I believe.” He shook his head. “You’ve found yourself some hot-tempered stepbrothers, haven’t you?”
