Page 127 of The Grand Ruin: Lance & Scarlet-Part One

Darkness has never been my friend, and yet as I stand in the doorway of my childhood home and hear my brother’s roar shatter the last of the light in my heart, I welcome the promise of it.

My feet carry me to the front room, and for some stupid reason, I expect him to be in his chair, that maybe it was peaceful. Gentle.

Life isn’t gentle with us, though.

My dad is lying on the carpet, his chest exposed with wires and pads stuck to him. Mason kneels at his side. There are people dotted around the room, but I can barely make them out. I can barely even breathe.

I’m not sure I even want to.

“Don’t rush back.”

“Scarlet, darling.”

My fixated stare pans to Freya, her face distraught.

Mason stands when he hears my name, and the panic I feel deep in my veins isn’t fair. The fear—I hate him for it.

His face is so pale. Lips thin.

My nostrils flare as I stare back at him, tears leaking down my face.

I break apart when he pulls me into his chest and holds me, but he shatters me completely, confirming my fears when he lets me go and walks from the room.

A sob escapes, but I catch it, pulling my shoulders back. I wipe my face and move to my dad’s side, my eyes full, making him a blur. I blink the tears away, bending to smooth his hair from his forehead. My head meets his chest. The coldness against my skin makes my body cave in. “I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry, Dad.”

I lie with him for what feels like only minutes, but when a hand settles on my shoulder and they tell me they need me to move, I realise I can’t feel my legs, and it’s Elliot’s arms that slip around me and lift me from off the floor.

Lance

“Let me drive you.” I reach for her again as she slams her hand on her steering wheel. She doesn’t meet my eyes, and as I pull her into me, she flails in my hold.

“Get off of me!”

“Scar—”

“This is all your fault!”

I step back, despair tearing through my chest.

Her cheeks are mottled from her tears, eyes red-rimmed and full. “You talked me into coming over. You wouldn’t stop. Pushing and pushing.”

“I didn’t know. If I did, I never would have—”

“I knew!” Her voice breaks up the words, breaking me. “I knew that he needed me, and I wasn’t there! I failed him when he needed me the most, and you let me.”

“No. Scarlet, no. This isn’t your fault.”

She starts to sob, her body folding. “Then whose is it?”

I rush to her, but she pushes me back. “I can’t. Please, don’t touch me.” Her eyes eventually meet mine. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We never should’ve done this. I knew.”

She backs away and climbs into my car, staring with a broken gaze out of the windscreen as her shoulders shake with each sob that leaves her.

I climb into the car and make the mile drive to the estate, my heart sinking when we pull up to the house and find the circular drive full of abandoned cars.

Her eyes flick up to mine. “You don’t need to be here.”

I stare at her from the kitchen doorway, her pain like a steel weight in my gut. Nothing I say or do right now can fix it.

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