Page 116 of Ink Me Three Times
Silence stretches between us. Her arms are still crossed tight over her chest. That pale knuckle grip again.
“She ever say why?” Ivy asks. “To him?”
“No. Not really. He said she wanted more. That she was overwhelmed. That he didn’t see it coming.”
“And he still lets her have rights? Like, legally?”
I shrug. “She never signed them away. But she hasn’t shown up, either. So for now, it’s like she doesn’t exist.”
Ivy bites her lip. Hard. Then says, “But she did show up, right? At the con?”
“I…” I don’t know how much Freddie wants me to talk about this. “I think so.”
She looks at me. Eyes wide, searching.
“You think she’d take Penny?”
“Freddie’d burn the damn world down before he let that happen.”
She nods slowly, filing that away for later.
I should leave it there. Should let her walk.
But I can’t.
“Why all the questions, Ivy?”
She flinches. I caught her.
“I just…” she trails off, then swallows. “I needed to talk to someone. I might be driving myself crazy here.”
I hate this.
I hate that she’s attached to Penny, to this situation, to all of us…
Because I know I am too.
A fantasy weekend that wasn't supposed to follow us home.
I thought we’d get it out of our systems.
Scratch the itch. Burn it out.
But truth be told, I just feel like we opened a can of worms.
A big, messy, impossible can.
And Ivy is drowning in it.
She rubs her hands over her face. “I haven’t slept. Like, really slept. I keep thinking about… everything. And I don’t know if it was a huge mistake or…”
“Was it?” I ask, cutting in before she can spiral further.
She blinks at me. “What?”
“A mistake.”
Her mouth opens, but no sound comes out. She looks like she wants to say yes. She thinks itshouldbe a yes.
