He spun around and raised his eyebrows at me. “You’ll do no such fucking thing.”

“I won’t?”

“No. You won’t. You’ll wait and see what happens. There’s a chance this dickwad might not call the police.”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t he?”

“Think about it, Brody. We don’t know the story of why he’s back and what’s going on with him. For all you know, he’s got a boner for Kacie and wants her back. Getting her boyfriend arrested certainly isn’t going to make her run back into his arms.”

“First of all, did you just say boner?” I stared up at him in disgust. “What are you, thirteen? Second of all, don’t ever talk about Zach’s dick and Kacie in the same sentence again.”

He stopped pacing and sat on the chair across from me. “You gonna call her?”

“I don’t know. Eventually, yes. I just don’t know when.” I exhaled.

“Is this a deal breaker for you?” he asked carefully.

I stared off into space for a few seconds, thinking about his question. I would take a thousand broken hands if the knot in my stomach whenever he said her name would disappear for five minutes. “I can’t control where that asshole wanders around the planet, so if he showed back up in her life, that’s not her fault. But why didn’t she tell me?” I searched Andy’s face for answers. “Is she in love with him again?”

“Whoa.” He shook his head vigorously. “I seriously doubt that. Don’t go jumping to crazy conclusions.”

“I don’t even know what to think anymore, about anything…”

“What about your parents? What happened there?”

The ache in my chest flared up again. The only silver lining to the Zach bullshit was that for a couple hours, it took my mind off what was going on with my mom and dad.

“I have no idea what went wrong. They basically just said they grew apart and these things happen.”

“I’m really sorry about that. I can’t even imagine how weird it must be to be going through this now.” He interlocked his fingers and tucked them behind his head. “You think they’ll work it out?”

“Who knows? Supposedly they’re using the same lawyer and have everything all sorted out already.”

“Jesus, that’s one hell of an amicable split. Blaire and I can’t even agree on what date we officially separated.” He huffed. “Does Shae know?”

“Nope, they’re telling her this weekend.”

As sad as I was for myself, my heart was completely broken for Shae. She had no idea what was coming her way. Shae was without a doubt the most romantic human being on the planet. She was constantly watching sappy movies, setting her friends up on blind dates, and writing poetry about love. She was so in love with love that she became a wedding planner—a damn good one too. This was going to completely crush her.

At least we’d have that part in common.

“Hey.” My bedroom door cracked open just enough for my mom to stick her head in.

I sat up and yawned. “Morning. Are the girls already up?”

“Yeah. I fed them and their backpacks are ready to go. Want me to put them on the bus?”

“No.” I sighed. “I’ll do it. I called in; I’m not going to work today.”

The corner of her mouth turned down. “No call from Brody, huh?”

I couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat, so I just shook my head. Fresh tears started to build in my eyes, though I had no idea how since I’d cried enough to fill the lake out back.

“Okay, honey. We’ll see you in a little bit.” She closed my door and I turned to my right, staring at my cell phone on the nightstand. I was scared to look at it. So many scenarios ran through my head.

Brody could have texted to say we were done.

He could have texted to say he was coming over and we would work through this.

He might not have texted at all.

I took a deep breath grabbed it.

Nothing.

Shit.

Now came the question of what I should do. Do I turn into a teenager and text the crap out of him, begging for forgiveness, or do I have confidence in our relationship and give him space?

Screw that. I didn’t have enough confidence to tell him about Zach in the first place, now was the time to fight.

HEY, I KNOW LAST NIGHT WAS CRAZY AND YOU’RE CONFUSED AND MAD AT ME. I’M MAD AT ME TOO. FIRST OF ALL, I’M SO SORRY ABOUT YOUR PARENTS. I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW THAT MUST HAVE FELT TO SHOW UP AT MY HOUSE LOOKING FOR COMFORT TO INSTEAD SEE ZACH HERE. LAST NIGHT WAS THE WORST NIGHT OF MY LIFE. IT WAS WAY WORSE THAN WHEN ZACH LEFT BECAUSE WHEN HE LEFT, I WAS ALREADY DEAD INSIDE. THE DAY I MET YOU, I CAME BACK TO LIFE. I’M MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU AND WILL FOREVER REGRET THE COLOSSAL MISTAKE I MADE OF NOT TELLING YOU SOONER. PLEASE GIVE ME A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN.

I hit send on the longest—and most important—text of my life.

Staring at that phone all morning, praying for a response, wasn’t going to do me any good. I jumped up and took a quick shower before walking Lucy and Piper down to the bus.

The smell of burning leaves permeated the air and the crisp morning chilled me just a little bit. The girls and I held hands as we walked down to the edge of the driveway, leaves crunching under our feet. The bus came quickly and they hopped on, blowing kisses at me out the window. I waved until I couldn’t see the bus anymore, desperate to put on a happy face for them when in reality, all I was thinking about was the cell phone in my back pocket.

I was halfway up the driveway when it vibrated.

It was a text! From… Lauren.

L: HEY, CHICKY. I’M LEAVING TOMORROW. CAN I STOP BY THIS MORNING AND VISIT FOR A LITTLE BIT OR ARE YOU WORKING?

Thank God I called in. I can’t let her go back to Italy like that.

NO, I CALLED IN SICK. PLEASE COME OVER. I OWE YOU THE BIGGEST APOLOGY EVER.

L: YOU OWE ME NOTHING. I’LL BE THERE SOON.

I had two mason jars, filled with ice and raspberry tea, ready to go just a bit later when I heard a loud knock. As excited as I was to see Lauren, part of me really hoped it would be Brody on the other side of the door instead. No such luck.

I barely had the door open and Lauren was pushing through it, throwing her arms around me. “I’m so sorry for the way dinner went last night. That’s not at all what I had in mind.”

Exhaling, I hugged her back and rested my head on her shoulder. “Me too. I shouldn’t have run out like that, but I couldn’t take the guilt from Alexa anymore.”

“I’m sorry too,” Alexa said quietly, stepping up behind Lauren with her hands shoved in her hoodie as she stared at the ground.

Seeing Alexa look so sad, combined with my already fragile mindset… I couldn’t stay mad at her. Not letting go of Lauren, I sighed and held my arm up for Alexa to join in on the hug.

“I’m so sorry for being such a bitch, Kacie,” Alexa said into Lauren’s hair. “You’re right. I have no idea how hard this has been for you. I’m such an asshole.”

I didn’t respond, but I squeezed her hand.

“Come in. Let’s sit.” I finally pulled away, grabbing Lauren’s hand too, and led them to the back of the house. They followed me into the kitchen as I grabbed another mason jar from the cabinet. I poured another glass of tea and sat down across from them.