She missed me every day?

Bullshit.

She could have come and got me if she missed me so damn much.

I’m mad. I’m still so angry at her and she isn’t even alive anymore. She’s gone. Saw’s gone. The two people who fucked my head up are gone and I’m still here, suffering for their actions.

Please forgive me, for it will only set you free.

She’s right. I need to forgive her and not for her, definitely not for her, but for me.

I need that freedom. I clench my teeth as I gaze out. My vision blurs, my chest feels heavy. “One day I hope I’m well enough that I can forgive you. Sadly, for me, today isn’t that day,” I murmur.

I hear Bryce coming down the stairs and I blink my tears away and wipe my cheek before I turn around and see bed hair and sleep lines.

“Hey,” he says, his voice deep and groggy. “What are you doing?” He walks closer wearing only basketball shorts, his expression turning from curious to concerned. “Why are you crying?”

I take the letter from my pocket so he can see. He looks down at it, his eyes bouncing back up to me before he takes it from my hand. Walking closer to the window so he can see, he reads Bethany’s words. I watch the emotion wash over his face. A deep wrinkle sets between his brow, and he runs a hand over the scruff on his jaw.

Bryce swallows and exhales. “Wow,” he says quietly. “You haven’t heard anything about this, have you?”

I shake my head.

“Come here,” he says, pulling me to him. My face goes to his chest and I inhale.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. He kisses the top of my head and I soak up the comfort of his love.

“She shouldn’t have written that in there.” And I love how he thinks just like I do. I love how he’s holding me, and I didn’t even ask. I love how he’s sorry when he has no reason to be.

I love him so damn much, it consumes me.

“No, she shouldn’t have, but she shouldn’t have done a lot of things.”

He slightly pulls away and looks down at me. “Are you okay?”

“She was so cold toward me when I saw her. She acted as though it was my fault, but those words contradicted her actions at Saw’s. It confuses me.”

“It was never your fault, K. None of it was your fault. She had a problem, and it had nothing to do with you.”

“Yeah.” I look out the window and bite my lip. “We got the short end of the stick with moms, right?”

He scoffs. “Right.”

I pull him back to me and wrap my arms around his waist, melting. The sun douses us in warm light, and I feel it through my bones. My childhood was shit, my teenage years were a nightmare, but my life now… it’s more than I could have ever imagined.

And it’s all because of him.

“You still wanna go?” His voice vibrates my cheek.

“Absolutely,” I say, giving him a squeeze.

“Good. Let’s get ready.”

“Okay.” I lean up and kiss the two freckles on his neck before pulling away.

Chapter Seventeen

Kathrine