Page 234 of Stay Scared

“What was?”

His answer takes a second.

“You.”

The word lands without ornament.

Cade’s hand returns to my hip while Owen shifts closer on my other side.

Ash sees both movements.

The man who built rooms because he hated variables takes one step toward us, then another.

“What were you going to do if I never came back?”

Cade answers before Ash can. “Something stupid.”

I look at him. “Helpful.”

“You asked.”

Owen keeps watching Ash. “He had contractors pricing a replacement door for the design room.”

Ash turns on him. “That information was private.”

“You copied me on the quote.”

“That was an error.”

Cade gives a short, humorless laugh. “You were losing your mind.”

Ash looks at him. “You punched a hole through your apartment wall.”

I look at Cade.

He looks away. “Drywall is replaceable.”

The pressure in my chest eases just enough to hurt in a different way.

None of them handled the separation well.

Neither did I.

I look between the three of them.

“Cade. Owen.”

Cade immediately looks suspicious.

“What?”

“Give us a minute.”

Ash’s attention shifts to me.

Cade’s does too. “Why does he get privacy?”

“Because I asked for it.”