Page 237 of Did They Break You

The hoodie she was wearing from the hospital is gone from the back of my chair, too.

My muscles feel tight, and I turn to my bedroom door. It’s unlocked, and I know she locked it last night. A nervous habit, she said.

I twist the knob, pulling open the door.

A narrow slice of light spills down the hallway.

Storm’s door is closed, and for one second, I imagine her in there with him.

My stomach twists into knots and I think I might puke. What we did in the living room, after that camping trip… We are never doing that shit again. I mean, I don’t even watch porn anymore. At all. Ever. So she can’t get Storm’s dick ever again in her life.

But she wouldn’t do that.

She just wouldn’t.

I take a step out into the hallway.

Then I hear a voice.

Straining my ears, I peer over the railing, but from this angle, I can’t see anything.

I hear them talking, though.

Brinklin and Remi.

I take a deep breath in, my hands clenched into fists at my side. I will fuck him up too if he’s touching her.

I step toward the staircase, but then I hear his words.

“For what it’s worth,” he laughs, but he sounds uncomfortable. My temper flares, because it’s three in the fucking morning and I have no idea why she’s downstairs with him, or why he’s fucking talking to her, but still. He helped set that fire.

So I wait.

“I’m sorry, Remi.” He clears his throat. “I never meant to hurt you.”

My skin crawls with his words and I feel itchy, but I force myself to stay right where I am, letting her get this.

I don’t want him talking to her about it.

I don’t want himthinking about it,and definitely notnext to her.

But I wait, all the same. Because she deserves all of our apologies. I highly doubt she’d ever get that from Storm, and we had to beat it out of Chase, but she deserves it all the same.

“It’s okay,” she finally says, and I close my eyes tight in the dark, resisting the urge to dig my nails into my skin. Because I don’t want her to hurt like that. Not anymore. And if I don’t want it from her, I can’t do it either. But still, I cheat a little, my nails digging into my palms.

It’s not okay, baby.

Nothing that happened that night was okay.

And that’s exactly what Brinklin says. “No.” He pauses. “It wasn’t. Seriously, Remi. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Silence rings out between them, my blood pounding in my ears. I wish I could see her. I hope he isn’t touching her, but I want to comfort her myself. I know she probably needs it.

Then she just says, her voice breaking a little with the words,“Thank you.”

CHAPTER

SIXTY-EIGHT

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