Page 28 of Infinite

He crosses his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me he was hitting you again?”

I take a breath. Okay. Here we go.

As a child, Hale never failed to notice my bruises. The one time he and Trin convinced me to tell a teacher, nothing came of it, unless you count my mother slapping me across the face for embarrassing the family. It was the only time Momma ever hit me, but it hurt more than my father’s blows ever had.

As for the incident, it was disposed of like most indiscretions committed by wealthy families. The way I see it, my father’s hands should be permanently tainted green with the amount of money he’s used to pay people off.

Money has the power to silence anyone, including a well-meaning teacher. Miss Medera was her name. She placed unicorn stickers on our papers when we did well and made us popcorn when rain kept us inside at recess. I never saw her after she was “encouraged” to find a new place of employment. It was probably a good thing for her. For me, it was another example of my father’s twisted and manipulative character, and one more reason to hate him.

My focus drifts to the hollow of Hale’s throat, realizing he’s still waiting for me to explain. “Daddy hadn’t hit me in years,” I admit. “But he made up for it that night.”

“You should have told me, Becks,” Hale says, his voice rising. “You should’ve called me. We would have come back for you and kept you safe.”

My eyes burn with impending tears. Yeah. They would have.

“My phone was gone,” I explain. I don’t realize how tight I’m hugging myself until I try to shrug off the memory. “You had left and . . .”

Don’t, I tell myself.Don’t you dare cry now.

I return my focus to the soaring skyscrapers trying to out-wow each other. It’s easier than facing Hale and every bit of emotion that day continues to stir. “I walked back to Callahan’s place. He was gone, but Trin was there. She and her folks took me to the hospital. They helped me get settled in Charlotte and gave me money until I could stand on my own.”

“I repaid every cent,” I add, feeling the need to explain. “I wouldn’t have taken their money if I had a choice.”

“It should’ve been me,” he says, cutting me off.

I don’t think he means to sound accusatory, especially given his soft tone. Like me, he carries his share of guilt and shame from that night. Both feelings . . . damn. I learned a long time ago they can do strange and awful things to a person.

“Why didn’t you come to me, Becca?” he asks. “Instead of Trin and her family, why didn’t you go looking for me?”

“Hale,” I say, feeling that familiar clench to my heart when it comes to him. “If I’d asked you for help, I would be exchanging one man for another.”

“Don’t,” he says, the word as sharp as his features. “Don’t you dare compare me to your father.”

“I’m not,” I say, my voice quaking with what I wish was only anger. “I would never do that. But you and I weren’t—I mean, it was the first time you kissed me. The first time you touched me.” I push my hair away from my face, feeling the gamut of that awful memory overwhelm me. “We weren’t anything yet.”

“We werefriends, Becca,” he reminds me. “The real kind, who always helped each other out.”

“We weren’t friends that night,” I say almost silently. “That night we were more.”

Hale straightens, squaring his shoulders. “I would have taken care of you,” he rumbles. “I would have cleaned you up, taken you to the hospital, fixed everything, and made it right.”

I swipe away the tear I can’t manage to hold back. “I know,” I say.

“Then why didn’t you call me when you reached Trin?”

“I couldn’t do that to you,” I stress. “You were starting your new life and I was supposed to start mine. So, I let you go. It was hard and terrible being without you. More than once I wanted to call you and make sure you were okay and to tell you what happened. Jesus, Hale, you have no idea how many times I picked up the phone to call you.”

“You’re right. I don’t. ’Cause you never did,” he says. “All you had to do was tell me and I would have dropped everything to be with you. Becca, I would have doneanythingfor you.”

I don’t know how to respond. His initial aggression had startled me, as well as his anger. But what he says and the honesty behind it, hurts more. Halewouldhave taken care of me. I don’t doubt it for one second. But I also couldn’t allow it.

“I had to prove I could make it on my own, that I’d never have to depend on another man again.” It’s hard to look at him. Somehow, I manage. “No matter how much I wanted to.”

Hale swallows hard, forcing his gaze from mine to glare at the sea of imposing structures. “You had to show up, now.”

“I did,” I say. He scowls when he catches my soft smile. “Like I told you, we were close once. We were there for each other.” I place my hand gently on his shoulder. “Let me be here for you now.”

His gaze drops to where my hand lies. “You want to be friends again?”

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