Page 92 of Until We Break

I turned to go. I’d said what I came for Ethan to hear. If I went any farther, I risked him freaking out and calling the sheriff’s office. He seemed like the type who wasn’t capable of fighting his own battles. Trying to ensnare Margot in his family tragedy was proof of that.

The keys jangled in my palm as I stepped toward the truck. “Safe drive.”

I slammed the door. The headlights pointed into Ethan’s room, but he didn’t move. He watched as I drove away.

I almost forgot the burgers and fries. I did a quick U-turn in the middle of the road. I ordered extra fries for Margot. While I waited at the counter for our order, I wondered if I had done the right thing for her. Ethan had her all wrong. She was strong and fierce. He didn’t know the half of it. Just because she was strong didn’t mean she deserved to be treated like she was disposable and that’s exactly what he had done with her. Disposed of her.

I wasn’t letting that happen to her ever again.

“Iwant the last fry,” Margot declared.

“I wouldn’t dare.” I smiled. The color had returned to her cheeks. We sat on the screened porch. The cicadas and bullfrogs seemed even louder tonight. The ceiling fan whirled overhead. I handed her the last fry.

“How do they make them so good?” she asked.

“Secret recipe.”

Her legs stretched across my lap. The food wrappers were tucked in the greasy white paper bags. I loved the feel of her silk legs beneath my hands. I wondered if they were too rough on her skin, but she never complained. I traced along her shin, over her knee, and to the inner part of her thigh. She exhaled.

“I want to tell you what happened,” she whispered.

“At breakfast?” I thought we had exhausted the situation. I didn’t need more of a play-by-play.

“No. With my parents. I should have told you before. Or at least I could have told you.”

“I don’t think there are any kind of requirements on that. You’ve had a rough summer. You think I’m upset about it or something?” I was trying to understand where this was coming from.

She sat forward slightly, curling my knuckles into her palm. “I want you to know. I want you to know things Ethan never should have known.”

I almost blurted out what I had done tonight. How I had threatened her ex. How he nauseated me. How I wanted to know why she ever dated that prick.

“You don’t have to do that. It’s not a competition on what he knows and what I don’t. We have time. I’ll learn things. And hopefully, I know things about you he doesn’t.” I winked, trying to bring some playfulness to the porch. Today had been hell for her.

“He was there. That’s what I’ve come to understand. If we hadn’t been dating, I don’t think I would have ever leaned on him the way I did. But I did. I trusted him with all of it.”

I listened while Margot told me about the day her father got the diagnosis. How he was waiting for her at a corner diner they used to frequent. It was as if he didn’t have to speak the words, she could see it all over his face when she walked in the door. They huddled in a corner booth, crying, and reading the pamphlets from the oncologist. She said her dad never lost his faith or optimism. He was determined to stick around for her. He didn’t want to leave her behind. It had broken his heart to think she would be left without any family. Today, with Ethan in the pseudo-fishing diner was too similar for her, down to the vinyl booths. It brought it all back in painful flashes. She didn’t know what to do but run out of Reel Time.

I squeezed her hand. “I can’t believe everything you’ve been through.”

“Sometimes I can’t either. It’s like I’m watching someone else’s life on a screen. I’m an observer. It’s not real. It can’t be. How could I lose my mom and dad only years apart?”

I shook my head. “It’s not fair. It shouldn’t happen to anyone.”

“My mom’s death was so sudden. We were in such shock.” She glanced at me. “It was an aneurysm when she was at work. One minute she was here and the next she wasn’t. I thought that would be the darkest time in my life.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know dark yet.”

My chest hurt. My entire body hurt for her. I didn’t know the circumstances of her mother’s death either. It was a lot of grief and sadness to take in at once. No wonder the conversation with Ethan had almost taken her down.

“I knew it couldn’t have been good, but I didn’t know it was this bad. You don’t talk about them much.”

She swallowed. “I know. I should talk about them more. My mom loved it here. You know when Lucas showed me his shell collection, it was the first memory I had—I instantly went back to my beach walks with her. I feel connected to her here and I should talk about it. I sometimes wonder if that’s why Uncle Walt left me the place. He knew something I didn’t. Could be wishful thinking. Could be that Dean just drew my name out of a hat.” I thought she was almost on the verge of a small laugh, but she cut it off.

“God, you’re amazing Margot.”

“That’s the last thing I’m thinking right now.”

“You’re here. You keep getting up.” I looked out at the lights on the water, reaching from the pilings like outstretched arms. “And you’ve got this place. A new home.”

She sighed. “I still haven’t figured out how to afford the Blue Heron and pay the back taxes. But I don’t want to leave.”

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