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“But she said you never returned her calls or messages.”
“He must have deleted the messages and flashed her phone or something. I don’t know how he did it but what I do know is that B needed me. She fucking needed me, and he kept her from me. And she… she hurt herself because she thought I’d abandoned her.”
Fuck, those words hurt. Cut so fucking deep the air sucked clean from my lungs. How was I ever going to move past the fact she’d tried to hurt herself… because she thought I’d left her.
“How bad was it?” I pushed the words past the giant lump in my throat as I ran my thumb over the jagged scar on Harleigh’s wrist. A soft murmur left her lips and I soaked up the sight of her sleeping. Peaceful.
Alive.
I didn’t want to know. The thought of Harleigh ever hurting herself because of me was too much to bear, but I needed to know.
The blood drained from Celeste’s cheeks. “It was bad; really bad.”
“Fuck,” I hissed, running my eyes over Harleigh’s sleeping form. She looked so small and fragile. So peaceful.
I would never forgive her father for his scheming that led us to this point. That led Harleigh to believing I’d abandoned her during the darkest day of her life.
“She still loves you, you know?” My eyes snapped to Celeste’s and she gave me a sad smile. “When she told me about you, about what happened, I said it didn’t make any sense… But she’s broken, Nix. She’s so broken that she couldn’t see past all the lies and half-truths. I’m sorry. If what you say is true, then I’m sorry. For all of it.”
“It isn’t your fault.”
“I know. But she’s my sister. I care about her. And I hate the idea that our father was somehow involved….” Anger flared in her eyes again.
Good, get angry, girl. Because I’m fucking furious.
“I visited her in Albany Hills. I was the only visitor she would allow.”
“Albany Hills?”
Guilt washed over her, and she murmured, “She didn’t tell you…”
“We have a lot to talk about,” I admitted. “What is it? Some kind of rehab center?”
“An inpatient facility on the outskirts of Albany.”
“That’s where she was?”
She nodded. “The first month she lived with us, Harleigh was completely checked out. She wouldn’t eat, barely drank. She didn’t leave her bedroom unless my parents forced her to. The family doctor said she was severely depressed and started her on medication but it only seemed to make her worse. She was like a ghost, Nix. It was horrible. After she tried to…” Agony etched into her features. “My parents sent her to Albany Hills. She was there for six months.”
Six months.
My stomach dropped into my toes.
“When she got out, she was… different. I can’t really explain it. It’s like she had this calmness about her, but it felt forced. I’ve tried really hard to break through her defenses, Nix. To be someone she can trust and lean on. But she hates life here. It clings to her like a second skin; you can literally see her writhing around in it. Repelling it. But she won’t talk about it. She won’t—”
“C-Celeste?” Harleigh’s eyes fluttered open, and she gazed up at me, her brows drawn together. “Nix?”
“Yeah, B. I’m here.”
“I thought… It wasn’t a dream?”
“No, it wasn’t a dream.” I smoothed my thumb over her cheek.
“I’m sorry you had to see me like that.” Her eyes darted away, but I gently gripped her chin, forcing her to look at me.
“Listen to me, and listen good, Birdie. Never shy away from me. Ever. I see you, B. I’ve always fucking seen you. And nothing about you scares me. Not a damn thing.”
Tears clung to her lashes as she swallowed hard. “You came,” she whispered.
“I meant what I said, B. I’ll always come for you. No matter where you are, or where I am, I’ll always come for you.”
Because she was mine.
And nothing or no one was ever going to come between us again.
