Page 27 of Four Times Forever

"You're my best friend, even if I won't think twice about knocking you into tomorrow if you ever think about hurting Lily," I assured him.

"I'd never do that." Ryan glared at me.

"I believe that you wouldn't want to," I nodded. "But you're not in control all the time. There's no telling what you'd do under aligned circumstances. You need help to fight this, Ryan. I can't do it for you. None of us can. And you can't do it on your own. If you want to be able to be around Lily again, all of us have to be able to trust you."

He gulped, but agreed. "I'll go."

Oh, thank goodness.

With his packed bags, he walked toward the glass doors, but thought better about walking into the broken glass, and headed toward the bedroom door.

He turned in the doorway. "So, you coming or what?"

Chapter 20

Eric

Ethan and I were sitting in the hallway, talking about the mess that was our lives, when Lily's door opened. We jumped to our feet at once.

"Hey." Ethan placed his hands in his back pockets.

I reached for her and pulled my hand back. Earlier when I had tried to touch her, she had swerved out of it. I didn't want to cross any boundaries. Hell knows, the one I had already barged through was enough.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"What Ryan did was out of order, but you don't have to be scared. We'll protect you," Ethan assured her.

She took a deep breath and flicked a brow. Of disbelief? Aw, hell. One step forward, one million steps back. I thought it had been hard walking on eggshells when we first met. This was like walking through fire. There was no one to blame for this but us.

"Ryan and Matt left for the night," I said.

She made eye contact with me for that one. "Where'd they go?"

"Over to the guesthouse. Is that okay?" Ethan responded.

She hugged herself and shrugged. "Yeah. I guess."

I hated the worry lines across her forehead and tensed at the sight of them. "It's just us here now. You're safe. And if you need him to leave, just say the word. You're our priority," I asserted.

Lily gulped. "Thanks, but he'll need you too. You can't turn your backs on him." She sighed. Her cheeks began to tremble and I couldn't keep my hands to myself any longer.

I pulled her into me and she melted against my chest. Ethan cupped the back of her head, massaging it. "Don't cry. You'll break my heart."

"My heart is already shattered," Lily sobbed and I held her tighter. "How did this all go so wrong? He was perfect. All of you were." She started pushing against my chest to escape my hug and I contemplated whether or not I should let her go. It was like that invisible thread that bound us together had broken. I had experienced the pop tonight when she hadn't wanted me near her. Now, the connection between us weakened by the minute. I was gripping onto what was left, but missteps could result in me losing her forever.

So, I let go, hating every second of the loss that had my heart chasing after hers.

Clearing my throat, I clutched onto a chance. "I'm not saying you should forgive Ryan and let him back into your life right away. In fact, I warned him not to get anywhere near you."

Her eyes widened at that and I kept the climbing volume out of my voice.

Ethan was still stroking her back. She hadn't shrugged him away yet. Not a bad sign, considering she had just forced me off her as if I was the one who had lost my temper tonight.

But I continued anyway, because the last thing I wanted was for Lily to change her mind about the wedding. "I'm just saying, he's clearly not himself. Stuck too much inside his head. The trip to Florida should help."

Also, I was dying for the change of scenery and seeing that damn lake every single morning. I acted like it didn't bother me, but it robbed a little bit more of my sanity every time I saw it and had to compartmentalize my thoughts just to survive the day. And I had had to leave my parents abruptly, I wanted to see them in person so that I could be sure that they were doing okay. Last but not least, they were so excited for the wedding, I needed their vibe to rub off on Lily.

---