Page 148 of The Good Girl

Nevaeh

Ihug my sister gently, scared I’ll hurt her if I squeeze any harder.

“I’m not ready to let you go,” I admit. My stomach feels like it’s full of rocks.

She pulls back and looks at me. “You built a life here. If I had what you do, you’d have to break my hands to tear me away from it.”

“But I just got you back,” I cry.

“You can come visit me whenever you want.”

I nod, knowing I’m supposed to be the brave one here.

“I’d stay, but I’m not strong enough yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be. I need time to heal. There is so much that I don’t know or understand.” She hugs herself.

I feel Havoc step up behind me. He has a sleeping Star in his arms. They’ve bonded over the last few weeks after we took Star home with us.

“You are stronger than you realize, Citi. I know grown men who couldn’t survive what you have. You take all the time youneed, and we’ll be here whenever you need us. We’re not going anywhere.”

Citi’s eyes fall on her daughter. “She loves you.”

“She’s an easy kid to love, just like her mama.”

He moves around me and kisses Citi’s forehead before walking past her to where my father’s car is. My dad opens the door so Havoc can put Star in the car seat. I watch my dad, who almost had a heart attack when I returned safe and sound and with my sister in tow.

Amity steps up to Citi and gently takes her hand. “It won’t be easy. In fact, this is going to be hard as fuck. But it’s far from the hardest thing you’ve done.”

I think about the mass grave Jasper buried each of Citi’s babies in because they were boys and he only wanted girls. No, she’s already survived the worst. She would survive this, too.

“I love you.” I reach out and take her other hand, giving it a squeeze.

“I love you too.” She looks at Amity. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that. Look after yourself okay, and don’t be a stranger.”

Citi gives her a small smile, before releasing her hand and taking my other one.

“I’m going to call you so much you’ll be sick of me,” I warn her,

“Never.”

We stare at each other for a moment, two pieces of the same puzzle finally finding their way to each other, only to find that one piece has been so damaged it doesn’t fit the way it used to anymore. In many ways, the Citi I knew is gone, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love this version just as much.

She rests her forehead against mine for a minute before she lets go of my hands and takes a step back. With a quick smile,she turns and walks toward the car, pausing when she sees Ambros. As our new prospect, he watches her from his spot at the gate. She walks over to him, keeping a little distance between them.

I look away, giving them the illusion of privacy as my dad heads my way. He stops before me, looking like he’s aged ten years in two weeks.

He twists his hands together as tears fill his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry, Nevaeh.”

“Daddy,” I whisper and step into his embrace. I try to hold it together, but it’s impossible with his tears soaking through my shirt.

I don’t know if we’ll ever have the relationship I hoped for, but I wouldn’t be here at all if he hadn’t saved me from Driller. In the end, his love for me won out. We might never be what we could have been, but the pain that usually accompanies that thought isn’t there anymore. I love him. He loves me, and right now, that’s enough.

He pulls back and cups my face, his thumbs swiping over my cheeks. “Be safe.”

“I will. Besides, these guys have my back.”

“They do, don’t they?” He gives me a sad smile before he steps back.

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