Page 91 of Just My Ex

“Why would you do a thing like that? I told you to stay put.”

“But you saw someone out there.”

“And in what universe does that mean, hey, I should go running around the forest in athunderstormand try to catch the bad guys?” I pause to breathe. “That was an irresponsible thing to do, especially with your injuries.”

She glides her fingers across her shoulder and then pulls her water-logged sneakers off her feet. Her socks are muddy, but I’m pretty sure one is purple polka-dots and the other has her name printed all over them—a gift from Stella one Christmas.

“It wasn’t a thunderstorm at first, Henry. It was only raining. The lightning came later.” She gulps in another breath. “And my injuries are fine. I’m fine.”

A flash of light and a clap of thunder make us both jump. “You don’t look fine. You look like a drowned rat.”

She scrapes out a groan. “Thanks,” she shoots back. “So did you catch the bad guys?” She leans her head to one side and tries to squeeze some of the water out of her hair.

“I only saw one and—” I throw my hands in the air. “Does it look like I caught ‘em?”

“Who was it?” Now she’s peeling off her socks and the bandage from her foot.

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. They were in a hoodie, and they could run pretty fast. I only caught glimpses up ahead before I lost them all together.”

“Male or female?”

“I don’t know!” I gesture big with my hands. “It’s hard to tell in a monsoon!”

“Well, what are we going to do now? We can’t have your brothers get us out of here, they’re all in Denver.”

“We’re going to have to wait out the storm.”

“What about Navie?”

“She’s with Stella. She’s fine. Look, you’re shivering. Come here.” I step towards her, the dank darkness of the barn shielding us both.

“I’m not cold.”

“Come on, Quinn.” I hold out my arms.

“You’re angry with me. I’m not going to hug someone who’s angry with me.”

“I’m trying to warm you up, okay? Besides, I’m not angry with you. There you go again, trying to tell me how I feel.”

“There I go again? What’s that supposed to mean? I’m trying to tell you howyoufeel? Gee. I wonder how come? Have you ever offered that information freely so I wouldn’t have to try to guess?”

“You knew what you were getting into when you married me, Quinn! I was in the military, so it’s par for the course. And then, I told you about the NDA. You couldn’t handle the unanswered questions. You resented me for it.”

“You’re right, I did,” she shoots back. “I felt like I was married to a brick wall.”

“So I became your pet project. And when you couldn’t fix me, you walked away.”

“No! I offered to heal with you, and you stood there, being all—” She scrubs her face and drags an angry hand through her wet hair. “—like that brick wall and you refused to get help. You expected me to sit around and wait for you to get it together? I did for a long time. But I couldn’t anymore.”

I grind my knuckle into my forehead. “I couldn’t handle being broken … you thinking I was broken.”

“We’re all broken, Henry.” She makes a strangled sound in her throat. “I don’t have my crap together.” She looks down at her sopping wet self, her feet bare on the wooden floor, and snickers. “I wanted to work on things as a team. You and me. Like it used to be.”

“It’s all I ever got from you, though. That you were disappointed in me. Groups and therapy and those programs for Veterans? That’s all we talked about.”

“I was stating my needs. I have that right.” Her voice rises. “You think I liked having to ask you over and over again to do those things?” Her posture weakens and she chews on her bottom lip.

I stop pacing. “I tried to do them. But you were ticked off at me all the time!”

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