Page 261 of Only Be Mine

“He’s in custody,” she said firmly. “He’s not getting out.”

I stared at the blank screen.

Ten years of dinners and vacations and gentle hands.

Ten years that were now reduced to headlines.

My mother brushed my hair back from my forehead. “You’re safe,” she whispered.

Safe.

The word felt fragile.

A nurse stepped in, “Try not to talk much today,” she said kindly. “You’ve had trauma to the neck. Bruising, swelling. No fractures. You’re lucky.”

I closed my eyes.

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was Trevor’s hand around my throat, and the way he looked at me when they pulled him off…

Not regret.

Blame.

Time moved strangely after that.

Too fast in headlines.

Too slow in private.

Amy didn’t come to the hospital.

I called her once and left a message. She called back two days later.

Her voice was flat. “I can’t do this, Cate.”

My chest tightened. “I didn’t know,” I said. “I swear to you, I didn’t know.”

“I know,” she said.

But she didn’t sound like she believed it.

“Jim is devastated,” she continued. “My family is being torn apart. Reporters are calling my kids’ school.”

Her voice broke then. “Everything was fine until Seth came back,” she added quietly.

The words stung.

“I can’t talk to you right now.”

The line went dead.

Another fracture.

Another thing Trevor had taken.

The trial moved quickly.

There was too much evidence.