Nathan offered me a smile, one that finally met his eyes.
The same smile he had given me over a year ago as I lay in a hospital bed.
“Yes, you made a lot of mistakes. But what other people do is not your responsibility.”
“Maybe not, but that’s the problem. It will always come back to what I did.” A broken sob left my lips and I took a step back before Derek could try to hold me, because if he did, I wouldn’t be able to walk away. “We all know that as long as I’m around, everyone in my family, everyone close to me will end up hurting in some way or another and I can’t handle that.”
Evie’s eyes filled with fear. I could feel it, I could hear it when she spoke. “Don’t say that. It’s not true.”
The silence between us was heavy, laced with their denial and my acceptance.
“I’m going to go.” Evie stood up quickly, and I could tell she was about to jump in to go with me, but I raised my hand to stop her. “Do not follow me.”
“Hannah--”
“No. I need to be alone. Do not follow me or I won’t talk to you again.”
“Let her go,” Nathan said.
It was my fault she was scared. It was always my fault, but I needed to be alone to gather my thoughts, even if that meant her being afraid I would do something crazy.
Derek gave me a single nod, understanding what I needed and with that, I left...hoping being alone would give me a chance to figure it out.
Because I had to.
This couldn’t keep happening to the people I loved.
I wouldn’t let it.
Chapter 30
Derek
“You need to go after her!” Evie’s desperate plea forced me to grit my jaw to steady myself. Nathan nearly pulled her off me, wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her by his side, but Evie pushed him away. “Nathan, tell him that he needs to go get her!”
I ran a hand over my face.
“Nathan, tell him, please!”
“Evie, stop.” Nathan forced out the word, looking at Evie like she needed to be quiet...something I hadn’t seen in him before. He adored her...but he was frustrated. “Let Hannah be. She needs space and we need to give it to her.”
“But—"
“No.”
Evie’s eyes filled with tears and she looked away, her shaking hands wrapping around her body against the chilly night. Nathan sat back down and leaned his back against the chair while my gaze dropped to the pictures.
Fuck.
Everything was a mess.
We should have known it was too good to be true. Should have known that the happiness would have been taken from us in a way we didn’t expect. Just when Hannah was letting herself be happy, letting herself be the person she wanted to be, something like this happened.
She wouldn’t be able to handle the blame again.
This would confirm everything she feared from the start—the past would always follow her.
Sick to my stomach, I picked up the note, studying each letter, each fucking curve in the writing as if that would give me a clue to who it was, but nothing happened.