Page 200 of On a Fault Line

I shake my head and wipe the tears from my eyes with the fabric. “No. I didn’t know you two ever broke up.”

Glancing off to the side of the room, her eyes catch Dad’s as he helps someone elderly to their seat. “We were separated for a few months before we got back together.”

“Why though?”

“Because both sides of our families interfered.”

I don’t have much memory of any of my grandparents and just assumed nothing rocky ever happened in my parents’ relationship.

I guess I was wrong.

“What changed?”

“We both realized that it’s our lives we are living. It is simple and yet so much interference can cause such tension in partnerships—especially new ones that are trying to form.”

“Hmm… I had no idea.”

“My sweet Penny, I’m sharing this so you can see that sometimes the storm brings the most beautiful of rainbows. That separation bonded us tighter together. It made us an unstoppable force and really helped us understand what we wanted out of our relationship.” Taking my hands into hers, she gives them a squeeze. “Listen. I’m not saying things will work out. I’m simply saying that you need to do what you think is best for you.”

“Thank you,” I mouth. I’m so caught up in the emotions of it all that I can’t even form the syllables and make a sound.

The sad part is…I am so mixed up that I no longer know what is best for me.

More people enter the room, including Graham who makes his way toward us.

I haven’t seen him in days.

He gives me a side hug. “It’s good seeing you, Pen.” Then he hugs Momma.

I’ve been staying at Nic’s old apartment. That was our compromise. I’d move out of Sky View if I could have space to myself to heal.

But I’m not sure the separation has done anything to help me feel better.

I don’t leave. I just lie in bed and mope around.

I eat just enough to not land myself in the hospital on IVs and can’t even find enjoyment in the numerous channels that Nic has subscribed to on the television.

I’m pretty sure the person living across the hall is a spy, but it’s not like I even care anymore.

I live a boring existence. And I trust no one.

I take a deep breath, channeling all my inner strength to get through tonight. But it’s not until I see the faces of Angie and Claire that I can no longer stand it.

“Let’s go to the restroom,” Claire says, wrapping a hand around my back.

“It’s going to be okay,” Angie promises.

“It’s not. It’s never going to be okay again.”

My parents may have worked their differences out, but that was because they both wanted to put in the effort. Collins wants nothing to do with me.

“It will,” Claire insists. “Just give it some time and let things smooth over.”

“He doesn’t want me anymore,” I sob, not needing to fill in the blank that I’m talking about the one man who holds the power to start and stop my heart.

Angie frowns. “I can’t imagine how he could not want you, Penny.”

“Even if he did, he won’t do anything about it, not when my brothers are ready to castrate him for even going near me. It’s not his fault. It’s mine. It’s all mine. They don’t realize that I was the one who was making the moves on him. I’m not the innocent one in all of this. I’m literally the catalyst who set this whole thing into motion.”

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