Page 205 of The Sidekick

“I didn’t want anyone to judge,” she mutters faintly.

“Judge what, angel?” I return my attention to her bowed head.

“South. My life before. Everybody judges us both. I hate it.”

“If you’re expecting me to cut ties with you, forget it,” Max snaps. How is he the one that gets it so fast? How did he know that’s what she was anticipating? Bracing for?

Tera doesn’t answer him.

Trevor’s chair creaks as he leans back, the tense silence broken.

“How about this?” He begins in a cautious tone, thinking about his words before he speaks again. “When a topic comes up, we talk through it without holding back. An adjustment to the last rule that includes all of us. No judgment, just us understanding each other’s point of view. We don’t have to agree but seeing it through another person’s eyes helps sometimes. Does that seem fair to everyone?”

“What if the topic is too painful, and you can’t talk about it?”

I look down to find Tera’s eyes on me with concern.

She isn’t worried about herself. She’s worried about me.

The idea staggers me, my heart giving a heavy lurch in my chest.

Her eyes go to Trevor next. He told her his secret, and she wants him safe, too. She wants to make sure we aren’t required to talk about things we’d rather leave in the past. Maybe she hopes that for herself as well, but I doubt that’s her main focus right now. We are. We always will be.

I’m in love with her.

The thought breaks the last tether I had to sanity as I know it and reshapes me. It isn’t comfortable, but I embrace it with open arms. If I don’t, who will put her first? Who will watch out for her while she’s on her quest to save us?

“Within reason,” Max spreads his hands and gives a tight smile to the rest of us. “We don’t have to dear diary our way through life. It’s more about not being afraid to open up to each other when it’s needed. Like, I don’t understand why I would judge South. I don’t know her, why would I?”

“Because she doesn’t behave like a normal person,” Tera says with a sigh. “She’s been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, and everyone thinks that’s it. She’s going to go out and destroy the whole world. That isn’t all she is. We worked hard together to help her maintain a normal lifestyle. She has bans and the payback rule.”

Max’s eyes widen while my face pales.

“A sociopath? And you lived with her for how long?” He asks in a choked voice.

“Years. She helped me gain confidence in myself. To stop being afraid and turn things around,” her voice strains with unshed tears. “Southie took me out dancing every weekend for months until I got on the dance floor. She made me see that being me wasn’t horrible.”

“South was a buffer,” I mutter. “A real friend. She’s here to make sure you know you aren’t alone, no matter how upset she is.”

“Yes,” she sighs heavily, giving me a grateful look.

“Is she in the bar?” Max asks eagerly. How we went from paranoid fear to acceptance in the span of a few sentences baffles me, but here we are.

“No,” Tera wipes her eyes with a sniffle. “I asked her to protect Shade for me. She left right away.”

“How is that a good idea?” Max says in a horrified mutter.

“She’s on a no-contact ban, so he’ll never know,” Tera tells him dismally. “He’s too upset to try and figure her out right now, and I don’t want them killing each other.”

“Is that a real concern?” Max’s voice rises with tension.

Tera shrugs, and his jaw drops. His eyes meet mine as he shakes his head.

“You trust her with our son,” I shrug and smirk back at him, unconcerned with his worry. “That’s all I need to know.”

“The fuck?” He mouths to me, getting pissed.

“Thank you, Asher.” Tera sags with relief.

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