Mackenzie flung the front door open and tossed one last pitying look my way.

“I’m sorry, you know. I wish I could take it back,” I said. And it was true, but impossible. There was nothing I could do to repair the damage I’d done.

Mackenzie’s gaze turned flat and cold. “One of these days you’re going to regret pushing away the people who loved you most—first Tony, now Robin. They actually cared about you, but all you care about is the momentary high. Whether it’s the pills I know you’re still popping or the sex, it’s all fleeting. People aren’t, though. If you sabotage every good thing, you’ll have nothing left but a wasteland. I love you, Lil, but not enough to watch you self-destruct.”

She slammed the door behind her, and all I could think about was the orange bottle of pills containing my sweet release from this prison I confined myself in.

2015, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

I hated driving downtown: endless bumper-to-bumper traffic; aggressive assholes behind the wheel; idiot pedestrians racing out into busy intersections, their overcoats flapping behind them. But sometimes it was a necessary evil to venture into the belly of the beast. Especially when you were about to meet with a potential business investor.

Everything was ready to fall into place . . . before everything was about to fall apart. I had drafted the bank-requested proposal for my health and wellness company—Workout Wonder, Don’t wonder if you can get healthy when we’ll help you do it!—networked and found someone with loaded pockets who was equally excited about the prospect, even located an affordable start-up site. Tony had given his stamp of approval, willing to work whatever extra hours were needed to supplement our income until I got things up and running. My dream was becoming a reality, with only one step remaining.

The contract sat on the passenger seat, ready to be signed by my new partner—who I was ten minutes late to meet. I had circled the same block three times with no luck finding a parking spot until, lo and behold, Lady Luck smiled on me. A spot right in front of his office, and I’d be damned if I let anybody else get it before I did.

I inched my car forward at the red light, cussing the knot of businesspeople rushing through the crosswalk. My front fender skimmed the intersection when the truck slammed into the side of my Honda Accord, smashing through the passenger side and hurling my car into oncoming traffic. My neck snapped to one side. My airbag crushed my cheek. The competing forces twisted my body into a Z. The pedestrians and skyscrapers spun crazily like a carnival ride.

As the car slowed to a stop, everything else stopped with it. My dreams. My future. My health. My marriage. That day was the beginning of the end.

Chapter 23

Robin

THURSDAY