Page 580 of End Game

He raises his brows in a silent question.

I nod again.

Then he's there too.

Four people.

Too many arms.

Too much warmth.

For a while, I let them hold me.

Then my phone buzzes in my pocket.

Every muscle in my body goes tight.

Dex feels it. “Don't.”

“I need to.”

“No, you don't.”

“Yes. I ignored it all the way home.”

He pulls back enough to look at me.

I can see him deciding whether to fight.

He doesn't.

I take out the phone.

Twenty-three notifications.

One is them removing me from the family chat.

I stare at it.

Cami inhales beside me.

I open Aunt Rachel first.

Aunt Rachel

Your mother called me. I love you more than I can put into words, Micah. But I can't support this. You know how we raised all of you. You know what we believe. I am praying that you find your way back.

Please give us space right now.

My thumb doesn't move.

Summer afternoons in her kitchen.

She used to cut apples into slices and put peanut butter on each one because Caleb wouldn't eat them otherwise.

I slept on her couch every Wednesday for almost an entire summer when Mom was working extra shifts.

She taught me how to drive in an empty church parking lot because Dad got too tense in the passenger seat.