call me if you need me?” Rhys asked, standing at Zoey’s front door after they returned from the cemetery.
She was still processing everything he had told her. But the one thing that stayed with her was that Rhys made a whole lot of sense to her now. He’d seen someone die before their death. That had to change a person on every level. More importantly, Rhys was no longer a fantasy. Not anymore. The only thing she saw, even now, staring into the strength of his eyes, was a man to adore. A man she didn’t want to walk away from. “I’ll call, I promise,” she said.
She expected him to kiss her. He surprised her by gathering her in his arms, holding her tight, and dropping a firm kiss onto her forehead, the most tender thing he’d done yet. She knew by the locking of his arms that he didn’t want to let go. Part of her didn’t want him to either.
When he finally leaned away, a pillar of strength, as always, he said, “No matter the time, I’m here for you. All right?”
She gave a small smile, hoping he saw the honest gratitude at his sharing his story with her, something obviously incredibly painful. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
He simply nodded and released her, although she could see it pained him to do so. As he headed back to his car, she watched him. Fate was a funny thing. Without Katherine’s death, Phoenix never would have happened. Without the assault, she wouldn’t have met Rhys. Without a doubt, both of their trauma and pain shaped them. She couldn’t help but wonder if all this was meant to be, and that made her head hurt more.
“He went home?”
Zoey glanced over her shoulder to find Hazel and Elise standing in the doorway, doing a not-so-great job at hiding. “Yeah,” Zoey said, turning around to face them. “I thought it was a good idea to have some time alone to process all that’s happened.”
“You want to be alone?” Hazel said, solemnly.
“Not alone, alone.” They moved out of the way, and Zoey stepped inside, sliding her arm through Hazel’s. “But more like, alone with you, the two greatest friends a girl could ask for.”
“Okay, phew.” Hazel smiled a little, giving Zoey’s arm a tug and leading her down the hallway. Once inside her bedroom, Zoey climbed in the middle of her queen-size platform bed while Hazel and Elise sank in on either side, the mattress bouncing beneath them. Boxes filled the room, no evidence that Zoey loved her life with Elise and Hazel. The flower-patterned duvet was crumpled from the night before, a reminder of the hurry in which Zoey had gotten out of bed after Elise told her what happened to Scott.
Silence settled in, a comfortable one. She could feel their curious stares on her and figured she’d answer the unsaid questions. “You’re wondering what I’m thinking, right?”
Hazel’s soft voice drifted over to her as she patted Zoey’s arm. “We don’t want to push you. Share if you want to, but we can also just cuddle. You know how I love to cuddle.”
“I do know that,” Zoey said, smiling over at Hazel. She gave the best hugs. “Honestly, I don’t even know where my head is at right now, other than I’m feeling sad. Sad any of this has happened. It’s weird, you know?” She turned her head toward Elise. “I’ve thought about Scott every day for the past year. His existence was there in my head all the time, and now he’s just…gone. I think I’m having trouble reconciling that.”
Elise gave a soft nod in understanding. “You’ve got a lot to process, but if you ask me, that guy got what was coming to him.”
“He sure as hell did,” Hazel agreed. When Zoey looked at her in surprise, Hazel shrugged. “I know I’m not usually one to wish harm on anyone, but we all answer to someone. Scott’s choices could only lead him down one path.”
Zoey leaned her head back against her pillow and closed her eyes, letting the quiet darkness fall over her. “Rhys said that same thing, and I know you’re all right, but when Rhys confronted them, Scott apologized to me. It felt sincere.”
“Yeah, but the thing is,” Elise countered. “That was an apology for you, not for him. Maybe he was trying to right a wrong to make you feel better. I imagine he lost all the good parts of his soul when he stood by and