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“She’s Mitch’s ,” Jesse said and sed the words, dusty in his throat

“Oh, Jesus,” Mac swore “What a mess Amanda said—”

“The roof will be done in another week Then I’”

Mac breathed hard through his nose “But—”

Jesse lurched away

“Jesse” Mac caught up with hiain “Let me look at your nose and that eye—”

“Leave me alone!” Jesse finally roared “Jesus! How ot in Mac’s face “Leave me alone!”

“You think you’re the only one who’s mad?” Mac shouted back “You think you’re the only one hurt by what’s happened? Screw you, Jesse We’re hurt, too All of us! Your whole family hurts with you But you’re too stubborn to see it”

Jesse’s rage, boiling over for hours, finally evaporated into mist Spent He was an eer had burned everything in its path and now he had nothing left

He shook his head and stepped backward onto the broken and cracked driveway “I don’t want to fight anymore”

Tears burned in his eyes and he s hi Mac could do for him Jesse was past help—a lost cause, a survivor who’d actually died in the crash, his body just didn’t know it yet “I’hed “I’m just…tired Okay?”

Mac nodded, his eyes glowing in the darkness like beacons in the night

Jesse turned away froered into the dark haunted house of his youth, where he’d never been safe

Mac followed and Jesse didn’t have the strength to fight or care He lay still on the couch while Mac cleaned his cuts and put ice on his fat lip

He s son of a bitch

He let Mac throw the blanket over his worn-out body and even pretended to snore just to get Mac out of the house

As soon as he heard Mac’s truck drive away, his eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling until he felt Wain’s soft nose under his hand