Page 92 (1/1)

"At this point?" I barked a short, bitter laugh "I’d take advice froht it would help I didn’t s up with Becks I mean…" It was , and she’d been offering ht I wanted She caht there on the table Me, I’d been hiding how far gone I was for so long that I… didn’t She had no idea what she was getting into I knew that And I should have known better

"Are you blaie nodded, looking satisfied "You’re both adults, and it’s none ofhurt Becks got hurt Maybe she should have beenthe risks, but that doesn’t ize to her You need to et better on her own, I don’t think you’re going to be able to work together anymore"

"Yeah, I can do that" I would even mean it Becks deserved a hell of a lot better than the way I’d treated her, whether I meant to treat her badly or not

She deserved a hell of a lot better than ed me Her hair smelled lie I was fonilla and strawberries She held on just long enough that I was starting to get uncoroceries out of bags, leavingmy look, she arched her eyebrows, and said, "Well? What are you waiting for? Get out there and talk to her Go"

I went

The grass was daht rainfall, and ie’s van, which sat in the driveith doors open and groceries on the front seat There was nobody there I turned to look around, unsurprised to see footprints in the wet grass leading away, toward Maggie’s vegetable garden

I followed the trail all the way around the house and to the edge of the carefully tilled plot of ground that Maggie used for growing vegetables and fresh herbs A few pre-Rising park benches had been set up inside the garden border, providing a decorative touch of retro chic to the place Becks was sitting on the bench farthest from where I stood, her back to me I wasn’t quiet as I approached her, and she didn’th "You mind if I sit down?"

"Yes, I doher chin up as she looked at me Her eyes were only a little bloodshot She’d clearlyyourself look bad for the cauess we have to do this, so youa hand in invitation

"Thanks" I sat, letting my hands rest onfor me to start, and I had no clue how

Say you’re sorry, pro before "I’ sorry, I don’t think I can even say it I was stupid, and I was selfish, and I’e of laughter to her voice when she spoke, like she couldn’t quite believe that ere doing this "So that’s it? You’re sorry? I knew you had issues, Shaun, and I’uess I rong I shouldn’t blame you for that" But I do The subtext in her words was impossible to miss, even for me

"Maybe you shouldn’t blah to tell you that it wasn’t a good idea for us to be… intimate like that"

"You hed, partly frohter "Uh, that, too I just… I guess I wasn’t expecting it and does that sound unbelievably lame, or is it just me?"

Becks frowned, slowly "You really mean that, don’t you? You really had no idea"

"No idea of what?"

She stared for a , "Oh, et concerned Apologizing for so--I h to know that calling the, especially when that soizing for so I didn’t know I’d done was a bit more of a probleht "Uh, Becks, I’ , but I do need to knohat I’ht and brittle, like broken glass glinting in the sunlight "I’ve been throwing , the frilly tops, the requests for hands-on review of ?"

"I don’t know," I replied honestly "I figured you just wanted to make sure your facts were solid before you posted, and all that frilly stuff looked like a girl thing Sort of like the way you wear your hair"