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Shit.
“I rushed home, packed, then went straight to the airport. There was a cancellation almost right away.”
My stomach continued to drop, and my heart followed.
“I was on the phone with Donald until I stepped onto the plane...and turned my phone off.”
By the time I’d realized she was missing, she’d already been in the air.
With her phone off.
Because her mom had been rushed to the hospital.
I was a complete ass.
“I should have called you, I know,” she continued. “But I didn’t think of it with all the rush of getting on the plane. All I could think of was getting home to Mam.”
The worst kind of ass.
“We were landing when I remembered. As soon as I turned on my phone, I...” She swallowed hard. “I saw your messages.”
Petulant, childish messages.
She risked another look at me, and I wondered if she could see the guilt written across my face.
“I accept my part for what happened between us,” she said. “And I’m not here to be asking for anything. I have no expectations–”
“I’m so sorry.” I crossed the distance between us, my heart ready to beat out of my chest. “This is all my fault. I fucked up. I should have trusted you, trusted that there was a good reason–”
She shook her head, fatigue written on every line of her body. “Water under the bridge. No need to dredge up the past.”
I reached out for her, then thought better of it. She probably didn’t want me to touch her, not after everything I’d done.
But I’d be damned if I stopped trying.
“I mean it, Sine. I am so sorry. I never should have said those things.” My heart twisted again. I wasn’t numb anymore. I was feeling, and it sucked. “I was an asshole.”
Not even a hint of a smile.
“Please, Sine.” My voice cracked. “I was wrong. Forgive me.”
It was a plea, not a command.
“Only if you forgive me for not telling you.”
I couldn’t stop myself from taking her hands. Despite the heat outside, her hands were cold. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were thinking about your mom. As you should have been. You didn’t deserve to have to deal with my shit on top of everything else.”
Her bottom lip trembled, and I released her hands to cup her face between my palms. I hated seeing her upset, and hated even more that I was responsible for it.
“Whatever you think you should feel guilty for, don’t. You did nothing wrong. I was a bastard for how I behaved.”
I took a step back.
“Please tell me that your mother’s okay.” If her mom wasn’t...I’d never forgive myself for putting the extra stress on Sine.
“She is.”
Some of the life seemed to be coming back into Sine’s eyes. That was good. I needed her to be herself again...before we talked about that other thing she said.
