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Now, Gabriel had the balls to come here.

He’d obviously done far better than me. He had everything I ever wanted. He had to have it all figured out. This felt like the night he’d left, but far worse. Back then, I thought the pain would end. That I’d move on and this would be a distant memory.

Now that I was older, I knew that it never fully went away.

It was easier when he was a mysterious person who’d left. At times, I could convince myself that he was as miserable as I was.

Now I knew the truth. He’d moved on. He was a father. And I’d been stuck in Strawberry Springs.

How long did I have until he would tell me he’d been right all along? How long did I have before I went to jail for murder?

I couldn’t tell if I was hurt or angry. Maybe I was a mix of both. The shock could only dull this for so long. Eventually, I would crash.

Night fell with me sitting on the floor in front of the couch, staring at a wall.

Next to me, my phone blew up with people checking in. I was tempted to throw it across the room. I didn’t want to admit this bothered me. I didn’t want to let any part of this show.

It didn’t help that my new neighbors weren’t quiet.

The best part of living in a run-down upper floor of a shop was that no one would move in near me. When Wren told me she wanted to fix up the larger unit next door, I’d been cautiously optimistic.

I wished I had begged her to stop.

I was already in a terrible mood from earlier, and knowing Gabriel was back took it to another level.

Stumbling, I wiped at my face and stormed out the front door. Whoever I was about to meet would be horrified to see me.

I didn’t care. Maybe they would quiet the fuck down.

My fist pounded on the door, and I waited with crossed arms.

I thought maybe it was some city asshole who didn’t understand that they had neighbors.

I was right, but in the worst way.

As Gabriel opened the door, he did a double take when he saw me.

I wanted to fall through the floor.

“No.” I shook my head. “This is a fucked-up nightmare. No way.”

“Jade—”

“You moved here?”

“You moved to the square?” he asked back. “What happened to your dad’s place?”

“He moved to be closer to his fire department. You had to know I would move to the square.”

“Who is it?” a kid asked.

“I’m not doing this.” I took a step back. “Quiet down. You’re being rude.”

“Wait—”

“Focus on your kids. They need you.” I went to turn, but he grabbed my hand.

“Jade, hang on a second.”