His mouth hung open as he pulled his brows in tight, frowning at me. “What are you? An idiot? What if there’s a perfectly good reason why she didn’t tell you? What if you, being the stubborn asshole that you are, are sitting here stewing about it while that douchebag is comforting her and mending her broken heart?”

“I told her I’d call her when we got back.”

“Moron, we’re on a road trip. How long do you think it would take for him to weasel his way back in? Hopefully not literally?”

“She wouldn’t do that. Not with him.” I shook my head, blowing him off.

“Why the hell not? You’re not talking to her. She’s heartbroken. She’s going to be looking for some sort of shoulder to lean on.”

I felt sick to my stomach.

Viper was right… and that’s not something I could say often.

I got back to the hotel room after my shitty game and checked my phone before I took a shower. I had four missed calls—three from my mom, which I wasn’t in the mood to return, and one from Shae.

I didn’t have to think twice about whether or not I was going to return my sister’s call, even though I was nervous as hell to do so. Had Mom and Dad talked to her yet? Did she know? If she didn’t, could I act normal, like nothing was wrong? I didn’t want to be the one to break her heart.

“Hey, kiddo.” I tried my best to sound cheerful when she answered the phone.

“Brody!” she blurted out when she answered. “What the hell is going on with Mom and Dad?”

I sighed. “They told you, huh?”

“Yeah. They called me this morning claiming they wanted me to find out from them, not you.”

“How nice of them,” I said sarcastically as I stretched out across the hotel bed.

“What happened with them? They won’t tell me anything.” Her voice was quiet, sad. She sounded how I felt.

“I don’t know. They didn’t say much to me either.” I rubbed my temples with my fingers. “I wasn’t there long, though. I kinda stormed out.”

“Mom told me. She’s most upset about that, of all things,” she said in disbelief.

“Did they tell you how long they’ve known about this?”

“Yeah,” she yelled. “A whole fucking year! What the hell? This is such crap, Brody. We have to do something.”

“Shae, what can we do?” I understood how she felt. She was reacting the same way I did the other night when I was determined to fix them.

“I don’t know,” she whined. “Lock them in a room together until they decide to drop all this?”

“Unfortunately, life doesn’t work like that.”

“I’m mad, Brody, and hurt and confused and… mad.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m mad too, kiddo. I just don’t know who to be mad at.”

I started my morning, just as I had the previous few days, by sending a text to Brody that he most likely wouldn’t respond to.

YOUR SILENCE IS KILLING ME. I MISS YOU SO MUCH I ACHE. PLEASE CALL ME. XO

Three days without a text or phone call from him was complete torture. Every time my cell phone made a noise, my heart leapt into my throat. I’d even started praying the house phone would ring, though I didn’t think he had that number. There was an ache inside of me that even a phone call couldn’t heal. I had texted him a few times just to say I love you, always without a response.

I’d just about finished my externship hours and was pretty sure that Maureen was going to pass me. Apparently she’s grumpy to all of her students; it’s just her personality. Darla assured me that if I were hired on at the hospital and she saw me as a coworker and not just a student, she’d actually be quite pleasant to work with.

Whatever.

There was a better chance of Viper marrying a nun than of me applying at that hospital. I would miss working with Darla, though. As close as we’d become, I knew we’d still see each other often.

“Look at how far you’ve come,” Darla said proudly.

“I know! I’m almost like a real nurse, huh?”

“You are a real nurse, Kacie. It’s in your heart.”

“It is, but I think I’ve made a decision.” I sat down next to her at the desk. “I think I’m going to apply somewhere doing labor and delivery.”

She tilted her head slightly and raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I’ve been talking to my girlfriend from Italy a lot about her pregnancy and I realized that’s where my passion is. Helping women who are pregnant or in labor, that’s what I want to do. And don’t even get me started on holding those teeny-tiny babies. It’s like heaven.”

Darla stuck her finger in her mouth and proceeded to make a gagging noise. “You can have it. All those whiny, complaining women who act like they are the first ones on the planet to have a kid. No, thanks. I’ll stick with my middle-of-the-night drunks, broken bones, and God knows what else here in the ER.”

“Well, we’re just going to have to meet up often to swap stories, then.” I smiled at her.

“Definitely.” She smirked at me. “Maybe we can go on a double date sometime.”

“Ooooh. Double date? Who’s the lucky guy?”

She batted her eyes at me as a devilish grin spread across her face. “Let’s just say he has a giant snake.”

Realization washed over me and my mouth fell open. “Viper? I thought you said that was a one-time thing?”

“It was supposed to be.” She shrugged. “But he texted me and I couldn’t stay away. That boy can lick the bark off a tree.”

“Okay, okay. I get it.” I scrunched my eyes closed and held my hands up, not wanting to hear anymore. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re happy. And I would love to go on a double date, assuming…”

“You’ll still be together,” Darla said softly, reaching over and putting her arm around me. “He’s just angry. He’ll get over this. You guys will be just fine. Want me to ask Viper to tell him to call you?”

“Sure.” I laughed. “Maybe Viper can pass him a note in homeroom to meet me in the science lab after the assembly. I appreciate it, but no, thanks. I got myself into this, I’ll get myself out.”

“Speaking of getting themselves in and out of trouble…” I looked up at her as she nodded down the hallway. I followed her gaze and saw Zach walking toward us.

“Hey, guys.” He waved as he walked up. “Kacie, can I talk to you?”

I nodded and offered him a polite smile. “Sure.” I turned toward Darla and whispered quietly, “I’ll be right back. Cover for me, okay?”

“You got it,” Darla said as I followed Zach down the hall to a waiting area.

We sat across from each other in itchy sage green hospital chairs with wooden arms. It was uncomfortable but private. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his folded hands. Yellow and purple bruises stained his cheeks.

“You okay?” I asked, leaning to the side to get a better view of his face.

“Yeah. I had an x-ray. Not broken, thank God.”