Page 87 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

Now I’m the one who’s crying. “That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing. I can’t protect you. I’m not Dad. Tonight showed me that.”

“No, no, you can protect us. It’s just…” She stops to sniffle. “You’ve protected us too much.”

My mouth falls open.

“What?” I try to sit up but instantly get dizzy. The paramedic and Sierra urge me to lie back down, which I do out of necessity.

“We’re here,” the paramedic says, interrupting us, and the ambulance takes an abrupt left turn. The next thing I know, the back doors are swung open, and I’m being carried out of the ambulance by two large men.

I thoughtnothing could ever top the day I got the phone call telling me that my dad had died. But this night? Needless to say, it’s a close second.

From wrestling an anxiety attack while trying to find my sister, to nearly getting kidnapped in her place, to fainting in the parking lot after the bad guys got away, I just know this ordeal will go down as one of the moments I’d give anything to forget.

Thank God TJ was there to catch me. Otherwise, I would’ve hit my head on the concrete.

The police showed up to take my statement on what had happened a few hours ago—it turns out the girls called 911 while locked in the car—and Sierra and I told them as much information as we could.

They sent us home after running a bunch of tests and drawing the conclusion that the intense adrenaline rush had been too much for my body.

I have no idea how I’m going to explain the stitches on my neck when Oliver comes home from his friend’s place tomorrow. I’m just grateful he’s spending the night there and wasn’t around to witness this shitshow.

“Are you okay?” TJ’s voice is thick with concern as we walk into my bedroom a little after 3:00 a.m.

After we found out that they were keeping Chance overnight—he was diagnosed with a bad concussion—we said our goodbyes to Theo and drove home. The girls were so exhausted they passed out in the car on our way back and went straight to bed when we arrived.

I have every intention of asking Sierra what she meant when she said I’ve protected her and Oli too much, but I figured we’d both been through a lot tonight and could pick up where we left off tomorrow.

Since Kelsea’s stuff was already at our place—the girls were supposed to have a sleepover—she’ll be sleeping here tonight. I don’t want either of the girls to be alone after the night they’ve had.

“Lacey?” TJ calls for my attention, and I snap out of it, whisking my head to look at him.

“Mm?” I drop onto the edge of my bed, barely keeping my eyes open.

“I said are you okay?” He steps closer, studying my face like he’s trying to commit my features to memory.

Honestly, I’m not okay. Not even close. I’ve always felt like a bad guardian, but watching your sister almost get taken because you couldn’t keep her safe? Now,thatwill make you doubt every decision you’ve ever made.

I rub my eyes. “I’m okay, just tired.”

The concern on his face doesn’t dissipate in the slightest. “And your neck?”

He doesn’t wait for my response, crossing the space to sit down next to me.

I skim the injury with the tip of my fingers. “It’s fine. Doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”

The gash left from Gabriel’s knife was nothing a few stitches couldn’t fix. Of course, I’m going to have to follow strict care instructions to avoid infections, but I’m not too worried about it.

“You sure? You don’t want the pain meds they prescribed?”

“Even if I wanted them, it’s past 3:00 a.m. Everything’s closed,” I say.

“I think there’s a twenty-four-hour drug store across town. It might be a while, but I can go pick them up for you if?—”

I only realize what I’m doing once my hand comes to rest on top of his. “I promise I’m okay. It can wait until morning.”

I can’t believe he just offered to drive all the way across town to get me pain meds after the hell we’ve been through.

I’m not sure my heart can handle this version of TJ. The adorable, caring version. I’m afraid if he doesn’t stop, I’ll be falling with no hope of ever getting back up.

---