Page 71 of We Finished Here

I nod sagely. “Well, I can attest to that. After today, and hearing my Mom’s health concerns, it really has me reevaluating things. I can’t help it.”

“I don’t want to take anything for granted,” she whispers. “I feel like I have been for a long time.”

Her words hang in the air for a few moments. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so I get where she’s coming from.

“You can’t beat yourself up about what happened, Em. It’s not your fault.”

“I should be around more.” She shakes her head.

I can see she’s having some kind of internal mortal dilemma.

I understand her more than most. It’s almost like she doesn’t have to explain it to me.

“You’re living your life, Em, like we all are. I could say the same about me. I’m away all the time. Is that a reason why my Mom may be sick too?”

She shakes her head. “No, of course not. I just feel bad I’m never around.”

“Your parents are living their own lives too. You have to remember that.”

I’m not deliberately saying that to make her feel better. I believe it.

But given what’s happened, it’s bound to make her question some things. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it myself. The reality is neither of us were prepared to see our parents with health issues and getting older.

She doesn’t say anything for a while. We sit in comfortable silence while I travel through the quiet streets back to her place.

“You know you really didn’t have to come all this way,” she says again.

I glance at her. “Em, you surprised me when you called, but I liked that you felt you could reach out.”

“Everything feels like a mess,” she says when I pull up in her driveway.

I shut the ignition off and turn a little to face her in my seat. “How so?”

She drops her head into her hands. “It just does,” she says, her voice muffled as she starts to cry.

Shit.

“Em…” I reach out to touch her hand again. “Please don’t cry.”

“Taylor, I’ve made a mess of everything.” She looks up at me with wild abandon for a moment, her eyes both fierce and scared at the same time. “And look how it’s all crashing down.”

“I don’t think it’s doing that.” I shake my head. “I told you you’re not responsible for what happened tonight because you live in Florida and can’t see your parents all the time!”

“I’m not just talking about tonight!” She sobs. “Or Florida, for that matter. It’s everything else.”

I take a deep breath. “This isn’t gonna help any, Em.” I rub her shoulder. “You haven’t made a mess of things, it’s just the way things went.” I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I hate seeing her cry more than anything.

She reaches for the door handle. “I’m so sorry, Taylor. I have to go… I just don’t think I can… thank you for the ride.”

She’s out the door before I can even blink.

Fuck.

I pull the keys out of the ignition, jam them in my pocket, and high-tail it after her.

My strides are long and quick, so I catch up with her in no time near the front steps.

I grab her by the wrist. “Em, wait.”

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