Page 88 of The Way We Are

A loud clap bellows around Regina’s office when she snaps the ledger shut before slumping into her chair. “Alright. I’ve listened to your bullshit for long enough. Here is how it’s going down from here on out.” She points to a mirror on her right. “Savannah is standing behind that glass. She called me last night and told me a story that pretty much matches the story you just shared. Except she replaced your anonymous names with ones I knowverywell.”

I act impassive, failing to fall into the trap she's setting out for me.

“She also told me she tried to convince you to let her come and see me today, but since you want to protect her from prosecution, you denied her request.”

Even with my knee bobbing up and down under the table, I keep my game face on. A stranger could sense my protectiveness of Savannah, so I’m not surprised Regina has intuited it.

“And even though you tell her she will never love you as much as you love her, she does. That’s why she's here today.”

Now I’m getting worried. I’m not panicked Savannah has gone behind my back—when Savannah makes a promise, she does everything in her power to keep her word. I’m terrified we have a surveillance team watching us. Otherwise, how would they know what I say to Savannah?

“Nothing? You don’t haveanythingyou want to say to me?” Regina asks, her anger picking up steam right alongside my crazy heart rate.

“I’m trying to help you, Ryan,” she informs me when I shake my head. “Why won’t you let me help you?”

When I remain quiet, she shifts her eyes to the window she gestured to earlier. With a jerk of a chin, the mirror fades away. Slosh races to the base of my throat when I spot a Savannah. She's standing behind the mirrored wall just like Regina said she was, her face as white as mine.

“Why is she here? You said you’d keep her out of harm’s way,” I snarl, my eyes rocketing to Regina.

Regina shakes her head, denying my claims. “I neversaidanything.”

“You didn’tsayanything, but you most certainlyimpliedit. The night of Savannah’s accident, you gave me the same reassurance you did when you promised to protect me from my dad.” I abruptly stand from my chair, sending the steel legs scraping across the ground. “You lied to me, just like every other person in this building—you are a liar!”

“You want the truth, Ryan? You want me to hit you with straight up honesty?” Regina asks, her anger as volatile as mine, her fists as tightly clenched.

When I nod, she shouts, “I’ve been nothing but honest with you since the day we met. I put my job on the line working your father’s case after I was removed from it. I pulled in favors left, right, and center to shift his anger onto me instead of your mother. I slept outside of your house for weeks after I gave you my word I wouldn’t let him hurt your mother again because I wasn’t going to letanythingstop me from keeping my promise. And what do I get in return? You belittle my dedication to the job I live for. You run to the very men responsible for every fucked up thing that happens in this town. And you sit in front of me, lying to my face like I am an imbecile.”

If I hadn’t pushed my chair out of my reach, her honesty would have me falling into it. Everything she said is true. Every. Single. Word.

“I... I ...”

“He's protecting me as Tobias does you,” says a soft voice at our side.

Savannah floats into the room, her steps as sporadic as the beats of my heart.

“That’s why you see in Ryan what you do. He’d rather hurt himself than risk hurting anyone else. He appreciates everything you have done for him, Regina, but when you force a man to pick between the woman he loves and his own well-being, he's always going to come off second-best. Not all men are wired like Ryan and Tobias. They have a natural protectiveness engrained in them that others won’t get for many years, if ever.”

As I listen to Savannah reason with Regina, I realize Savannah never called Regina, nor are we being tailed. She's simply reading Regina’s emotions because they reflect hers in so many ways.

The rattle of Savannah’s arms is noticeable when she pulls a card out of her pocket and slides it across the table to Regina. “Tobias asked me to give you this and say, ‘the sun loves the moon so much, he dies every night to let her breathe.’”

“He’s here?” Regina asks, her tone hopeful.

Tears glisten in Savannah’s eyes before she shakes her head. “He was, but he isn’t anymore.”

Regina quickly snatches the card off the table before pivoting in her seat to face the only solid wall in the room. Her body barely registers as moving, but her breaths are easily audible in the awkward silence surrounding us. The guilt encompassing every inch of me eases when Savannah curls her hand around mine. She doesn’t say anything; she just offers me silent comfort, understanding I never set out to intentionally deceive Regina.

Confusion makes itself known when Regina mumbles, “You can go. Both of you.”

I stare at Savannah, certain my hearing is playing tricks on me.

I realize there's nothing wrong with my hearing when Regina mutters, “If I’m required to say it again, I will change my mind.”

She doesn’t need to tell me twice.

After snatching my keys and jacket from the tabletop I threw them on nearly an hour ago, I make a beeline for the door. My long strides are hindered by Savannah’s dead weight. She remains standing where she originally was, her sorrowful eyes locked on Regina.

“Can you give us a minute?” she mouths in silence when I stare at her in shock.

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