Tears filled my eyes. “But you didn’t give me a chance to tell you any of that.” Just saying the words aloud had a hot poker piercing the cavity of my chest. Was that really the kind of person Ford thought I was? Growing up, I’d always thought he knew me better than anyone. I loved my sister, but Violet didn’t understand me, my need to be my own person, to go against our parents’ wishes. Kenna and Caelyn knew me, but I’d always shared a piece of myself with Ford that I’d held back from everyone else.

To have the one person you trusted with your whole self think so little of you, believe that you would blame him for an accident simply because he was the one behind the wheel… My muscles seized at the thought. I opened and closed my fists, trying to get the rest of myself to release. I couldn’t take it anymore, it hurt too much.

“Bell—” Ford took a small step forward.

I jerked back, shaking my head. “I guess we didn’t know each other as well as I thought we did.” I ran up the stairs and into my apartment, slamming the door behind me. I paced the hardwood planks, back and forth. I couldn’t stay here. It was as if I could feel Ford’s presence through the walls.

I glanced out the window to the parking lot below. Ford’s SUV was still here, but Caelyn’s and Kenna’s cars were both gone. I grabbed my purse and keys and headed down the outside stairs. I held my breath as I reached the bottom, as if that might make me invisible. I darted to my car and slipped behind the wheel.

I didn’t let out my breath until I was a block away from The Catch. My body seemed to operate on autopilot, making each turn and stop just like I had countless times before. I parked in front of the small house on a quiet street. I closed my door as silently as possible, walking up the tidy pathway, barely taking notice of the new plants Caelyn had put in the ground for spring.

I jogged up the steps and pulled out my spare key. I ducked inside, locking the door behind me. I let my purse fall to the floor in the living room as I climbed the ladder to the loft above the space. Hoisting myself up, I slipped off my shoes and sat down on the bed.

Caelyn stirred. “Bell?” Her voice was thick with sleep. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I stay here tonight?” My voice cracked, the tears flowing freely.

“Oh, Bells.” Caelyn held up the covers, and I crawled in, my body shaking with silent sobs. Caelyn wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “What happened?”