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Angry like a petulant child, he slammed his glass to the floor and it shattered. People nearby gasped.
Collin shoved Daniel, and Daniel shoved him right back. Looking mortified, Miranda hurried over. I touched my cheek, finding it wet with blood. A piece of glass had ricocheted off the floor and cut my skin.
As a crowd gathered, I made eye contact with Miranda. “Get Collin out of here. Now.”
“Yes, of course.” She moved in front of him. “Let’s go home to our son, Collin, please.”
The outburst seemed to have taxed Collin. His chest heaving, he looked at me over her head.
I turned away. Maybe I should never have turned toward him in the first place. I wouldn’t want to be in Miranda’s place. The Collin I’d once known was gone. This version seemed barely controlled.
“Are you okay?” Daniel asked, putting his arm around me.
“Just a little cut,” I muttered. “Can you handle the cleanup of this? I need to take care of my face. There’s a first aid kit in my office.”
“I got it,” he said, and I quickly moved away as he announced to the gathered crowd that everything was over.
Making it to my office, I entered and started to close the door. I wanted to be alone, needing to regroup. I knew how to do that alone, but my sister slipped inside with me.
Addy
“Let me help you.” Giving me a firm look, Rachel shut the door. “Where’s your first aid kit?”
“On top of the filing cabinet,” I said. “Where’s Claire?”
“With Teresa.” Rachel shuffled toward the corner of the room. There was so much stuff in my office, sliding sideways was all she could do. “She’s behind the bar, asleep in her stroller.”
“You should be with her and your husband. I can handle this.” I waved her off as she came toward me with the kit in her hands. “It’s not significant.”
“Sit,” she said, completely ignoring what I’d said. It felt like old times. “Now, Addy. You’re not the boss of me.”
“Obviously,” I muttered, but I sat and peered up at her as she set the kit on the cluttered surface of my desk and opened it. “Do you give Daniel this much trouble?”
Her lips curved. “He likes it when I’m bossy.” An alcohol packet in her grip, she jerked up her chin. “Remove your hand.”
When I did, she gasped, making me anxious to see a mirror.
“Is it bad?” I looked down at the blood on my hands, suddenly feeling ill.
“Might need butterfly bandages.” She rooted through the box while my stomach lurched. “Here we go.” She laid out what she needed and ripped open the alcohol packet. “Oh, Addy.” She dabbed at the wound while searching my gaze. “Are you okay?”
I frowned. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
“Because you don’t look like you’re okay,” she said. “Because you aren’t the same anymore. You have this wall around you that even I can’t breach.”
Dropping my gaze, I said softly, “I’m sorry.”
“Stop doing that.” She dropped another bloody alcohol swab on top of the growing pile. “Stop apologizing. You did nothing wrong. It’s other people who have wronged you and keep hurting you. Yet, I pay the price.”
“What are you talking about?” My brow furrowed.
“I didn’t hurt you. Barry didn’t hurt you. But we’re the ones who got kicked out of your life, and you go and hug people like Miranda who stole Collin from you.”
“She didn’t steal him. I never had him.” As I said the words, I realized they were true.
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t, actually.”
