"Goodbye, D."

And then she closed the door on me.

On us.

With my back against the wall and nowhere else to turn, I rang his doorbell, knowing that it was way too fucking late for visitors, but I was all out of options.

And all out of hope.

When the door swung inwards a few minutes later, all of the lines I'd rehearsed on the drive over here floated out of my head.

Razor sharp blue eyes studied my face. "Daryl."

"I, ah –" Wiping my eyes with my forearm, I sniffed deeply, trying to get a fucking handle on myself. "I fucked everything up, man." Exhaling a ragged breath, I added, "And I've got no place else to go."

Without speaking a word, Rourke stepped forward and grabbed my duffel bag off my shoulder before tossing it inside his foyer.

"I've got your back, D." Pulling me into a fierce hug, he touched his forehead against mine and slapped my back. "Always, man."

Molly

Frozen inside, I walked away from Daryl, knowing that I could never repair the shattered threads of my heart.

The minute I closed the door on him, my emotions came flooding back and I completely fell apart.

Sinking to the tiled floor of my foyer, I buried my head in my hands and sobbed uncontrollably.

I didn’t want to know any of this, but did.

I didn’t want to be mad at Daryl, but was.

I never knew physical pain so potent and soul destroying could be evoked by sheer emotion. I guess that was the make-up of the human heart and the feelings it encased.

My entire world felt like it was collapsing down around me, and even my own body didn’t feel like mine anymore.

Not since it was housing a future I wasn't sure I was ready for.

How was I supposed to move on from this?

How was I supposed to walk into school on Monday morning knowing the truth?

Knowing that my own mother wanted me dead.

Wren knew.

So did Trish and Sophie.

Dad.

And Daryl…

"Oh god," I squeezed out, feeling like I was suffocating under the weight of the feeling of betrayal.

I didn’t have anyone else to blame for my reckless actions. My father was right. I had rose-tinted glasses on when it came to Daryl. I went into this blindly and look where I was now.

"Molly." My father was suddenly beside me, pulling me into his arms. "It's okay, sweetheart. You're going to be okay."

"I need to get out of here," I cried, clawing at my throat. "Ocean Bay. This town. I need to not be here right now…"

I need to leave him.

I need…

I need…

"I feel like I'm suffocating, Dad. It's too much. And I can't –" another harsh sob overtook me, "oh god, it's too much, Dad. I need to get away for a while..."

"Shh, that's okay," Dad coaxed, tightening his hold on me. "We can leave right now, sweetheart. We can go anywhere you want."