Page 70 of Mine for a Moment

“Tyra,” I murmur, taking her hand. “I see you fighting every single day, and you’re easily the bravest person I’ve ever met. I didn’t tell you this to make you feel guilty for relying on me. Being there for you was a choice she and I made together, and it’s not one I regret.” I gently catch one of her tears with my thumb, my heart aching for her. “Day after day, I watch you take little steps forward, slowly regaining your independence, no matter how hard you have to fight for it. I’m honored to be holding your hand on your journey to recovery, Tyra.”Even if it hurts. Even if it cost me everything.

“I’ve already gotten a bit more used to leaving the house, but please give me a little longer,” she pleads, her voice breaking. Her panic attacks mean she can’t drive, but in the last couple of weeks, she’s gone out a handful of times without me, taking my security team with herinstead. We’ve both actively been trying to ensure she learns to stand on her own two feet again, instead of becoming overly reliant on me. She’s fighting as hard as she can, never asking for more than she truly needs. “Let me lean on you a little longer, Archer. I can’t…I can’t let you go yet.”

I nod and pull her closer, hugging her tightly as she bursts into tears. “I’m here,” I promise her, ignoring the numbness that I can’t cast away. “I’ll always be there for you.”

Sixty

Serenity

I stare at the beautiful sunset across the Grand Canal in Venice, my heart aching as I think back to that long weekend with Archer, when he took me on one of the gondolas and made one of my biggest dreams come true. I thought time would dull the pain, but it hasn’t.

I still miss him with every heartbeat, and every single one of my paintings still contains pieces of him, of us. I can’t let him go, no matter how hard I try. The mere thought of going back home and facing him fills me with dread. I’m not ready to see him treat Tyra with so much care, no matter how much I love her. It’d destroy me, but I can’t stay away much longer either. My dad has started to worry, and Theo has begun calling me multiple times a day to check in with me. I can’t keep running forever, but God, I wish I could.

“Serenity?”

I turn around at the sound of a familiar voice, my eyes widening when I find Tyra standing behind me, her eyes lit up with affection as I stare at her in disbelief. “Ty?” I mutter, dazed.

“Surprise!” she says, sounding positively giddy as she grabs myhand before briefly looking over her shoulder at Ezra, who’s standing a few paces away, his phone in his hands.

I instantly begin to search for Archer, disappointment washing over me when I don’t find him anywhere. “Ezra agreed to accompany me,” she tells me, squeezing my hand. “I’m here to bring you home.”

She looks so much more full of life now. I’d noticed it over video, but seeing it in person is surreal. It’s odd how bittersweet it is to see her doing so well. It proves that walking away was the right thing to do, and a small part of me was hoping that I’d been wrong when I made that decision.

“You came all the way here just to take me home?” I ask, shell-shocked.

She laughs and entwines our fingers before pulling me along. “I told you over the phone, didn’t I? I told you that if you didn’t come home, I’d come get you myself.”

“I thought you were joking,” I tell her, my voice trembling. I can hardly believe that she’s really here and that she’s leading me to a car that’s waiting for us.

“You should’ve known better,” Ezra says, smiling at me sweetly. “If you’d just listened to her, she wouldn’t have dragged me all the way here.”

His expression is entirely at odds with his words, and he looks at her like he’d go to the ends of the world for her simply because she asked. I watch them as he helps her with her seat belt, dozens of questions on the tip of my tongue that I don’t dare ask.

Does Archer know they’re here? Does he want me to come back at all, or would he prefer not to face me? I can’t stand the idea of going back home and seeing him look at me with regret when he’s the best thing that ever happened to me.

“We already collected your luggage from the hotel. We’re flying straight home,” Tyra says, her tone resolute.

I begin to protest, but she shuts me up with a look. “You’ve stayed away long enough, Serenity.”

“Tyra,” I begin to say, but she shakes her head.

“There’s somewhere I want to take you, something I want to show you, and if after that, you still want to be here, I won’t say a word. I won’t stop you. But please, just do this one thing for me, Ser.”

I look into her eyes, wishing I could tell her how much I’ve already done for her and knowing that I can’t. What I did was make amends for my sins. I never should’ve fallen for the man she loves, never should’ve even added his name to my list, and I’m paying for it now.

“Come on,” she says as she leads me onto the private jet that Ezra and Archer share, her familiarity with it making me uncomfortable. This is why I didn’t want to go home—because I’ll have to watch her retake her rightful place in Archer’s life, and it’ll destroy me to know she’s got everything I’ve ever wanted. I’m scared I’ll end up resenting her or that I’ll slip up and say the wrong thing, causing her pain she absolutely doesn’t deserve.

It’s all I can think about the entire flight home, and I can’t see a way out. I can’t be the person she needs me to be. Not yet. Not while I’m still in love with the one man I can’t be with.

My thoughts are still on Archer as I’m led into another car upon arrival, dread coursing through my body. I’m scared that seeing Archer will push me into another downward spiral, just like when I left. For the first few weeks, I barely ate or slept, spending every second painting in an attempt to dull the pain. I can’t go through that again, not now that I’ve finally managed to pull myself out of it.

“We’re here,” Tyra says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I’d been so absent-minded that I didn’t pay any attention to where we were going, and the moment I realize where she took me, my entire body tenses.

“Tyra,” I murmur, my voice trembling, pure trepidation coursing through me. Why here? Why now?

“Please,” she murmurs, reaching for my hand. “Give me ten minutes of your time. I know I’ve already asked for a lot, but please, Ser…please just hear me out.”

I’m sick to my stomach as she leads me to the same vantage point where Archer and I decided to start dating officially, and my heart begins to hammer in my chest when my painting comes into view, a man standing in front of it.

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