"How are things?"
"Good, I guess," I replied.
"You guess? That don't sound good."
"Angelina beat me up and Blaire Finlay pulled a gun on her and scared her off. Woods is now more overprotective than ever and he's always worried about me."
Tripp was quiet for a moment. I let him digest my words.
"Holy shit. Blaire has a gun?"
I laughed. That was his response to what I'd just told him?
"Sorry. I don't think that was the point. But damn, I can't picture that hot little blonde with a gun."
"Yeah, it was a shock," I replied, smiling out at the water crashing against the shore.
"Jace said she was from Alabama. Maybe I've been looking for a woman in the wrong states. I need to try out good ole Alabama next."
Tripp always managed to make me laugh, and he made me forget for a moment that my chest was about to explode from pain.
"Thanks," I said.
"For what?"
"Making me laugh," I replied.
"Anytime."
We sat there again for a few moments in silence.
"Where are you at now?" I asked, knowing he was on a road trip.
"I'm in South Carolina at a place called Myrtle Beach. I like it here."
"You like those beaches, don't you?" I replied.
"Makes me feel like I'm home, in a way."
"Will you ever come back here to stay?"
He didn't respond right away. It made me wonder what kept him away. There were secrets that he wouldn't share with me.
"Doubt it," he finally said.
"I don't think I can stay," I said aloud for the first time.
"Why?"
"Because this isn't working. I'm holding him back. I'm not getting better. This isn't going away and he deserves more. He needs more. Someone strong to stand beside him."
"He wants you, Della."
"Sometimes what we want isn't what's best for us," I replied.
"Yeah . . . I know that," he said quietly. "But if you leave him it will break him."
It would shatter me. But I loved him too much to ruin his future. "He will heal and then the woman who can be all he needs will walk into his life one day and he'll be glad he didn't make the mistake of staying with me."