Page 402 of Master of My Life

“It makes you think of her.”

“Yeah.”

“I understand. But . . .” The sheets rustled. Chase could just see Ethan sitting up and resting his

forearms on his knees. “It hasn’t been easy for me either.”

Chase sat on the edge of the bed and hung his head.

“You’re leaving tomorrow. You’ve refused to let any of us come along.”

“There’s nothing—”

“I know. There’s nothing we can do at the Gathering.” Ethan gave a disdainful snort. “But what if

there’s something we can do that’s not directly about the Gathering?”

“Like what?”

“God, Chase, I don’t know!” Ethan brought his fist down hard and the bed trembled. “But I don’t

—we don’t—like the idea of you going into a fight without us nearby. We’re a team. All of us. Me.

You. Lance. Corey and Matt. Casey, too, before. And now you’re shutting us out like we’re worthless

pieces of shit.”

Chase stared at the dark wall. Ethan was right. Every time they approached, asking if they could

help, he pushed them aside. More than once he’d seen the hurt in their eyes, especially Ethan’s. “I

don’t know how you can help,” he whispered, shame burning his heart.

“I don’t know either. But even just knowing what you’re going to do—where you’re going to

be . . . Maybe we could have seen something you didn’t. But you never even gave us a chance.”

Chase hung his head. “You’re right. I should have included you in it.” He rubbed his face. “But I

don’t know how to change it now. I leave tomorrow morning.”

“You mean this morning. It’s two.”

“Even worse.”

“Just tell us where you’re gonna be. Where the Gathering site is. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“How?”

Ethan chuckled and Chase relaxed as the tension evaporated. “It’s better if you don’t know.”

Chase twisted his torso to stare at Ethan. “Have you guys been making plans behind my back?”

“Only to protect you.”

Chase blew out a breath. “I don’t deserve you guys.”

“I know.” Ethan laughed. “But for some reason, we stick around.”

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