Page 116 of Broken

Argh!“Fine!” I snapped, throwing the phone down on my bed. I threw on a sweater and my sneakers before shoving my phone in my pocket to sneak out of the room.

I wondered if my parents might hear me leaving for once. Their room was on such an opposite end of the house that I doubted it, but damn, would it help if they could put their foot down and I could go back to my room and ignore Annie.

“Did Annie call you?”

I stopped on the stairs at Dad’s voice, spotting him by the door. “Yeah?...” I waited, my luck maybe actually turning around.

“Well, come on. We need to get going.”

“You’re going, too?”

“Yes. Now, hurry up.”

I rushed down the stairs, my confusion well and in place as I put on the jacket Dad held out.

“Grab your keys, son.”

I did, giving him a funny look when he grabbed blankets and flashlights from the hall closet. “What’s going on?”

He passed me one of each and threw the door open, letting the freezing air flood the entry of the house. “Your girlfriend is missing.”

“What?!” I couldn’t have heard that correctly. “What do you mean Izzy’s missing?”

“She was gone when Bridgette got home. Took the truck and left the door to the house wide open, but she didn’t take anything with her. Not even a jacket or her phone. Bridgette said there’s more. We need to get over there.”

That was all Dad had to say. I was at my truck seconds later, throwing the blanket and flashlight on the seat before sprinting across the street to the Donovan’s house.

Bridgette held the door open for me before I even reached it and pointed me up the stairs. Jet and Stefano were already therewhen I reached the room, and Annie was up in my face before I could say or do anything.

“This is allyourfault!” she screamed, throwing an arm out towards me.

“I know,” I said quietly, my voice breaking, though I didn’t know why. Those words just confirmed what I already knew.

“No, you don’t know! You don’t have any idea what you’ve done!”

Jet came forward and gently pulled Annie back, holding her to his chest. “Calm down, sweetheart. We’ll find her. It’ll be fine.”

“No, it won’t,” she cried, desperation thick in her voice. “He’s destroying her.”

“That’s enough, Annie,” Dad warned from the doorway as Bridgette shot her a look.

“No. She’s right.” I kept my eyes on Annie, knowing she needed to hear it from me. “I know I’ve destroyed her, and I hate myself for it, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. The damage is done.”

Annie threw her head back and rolled her eyes, disdain dripping in her words. “I swear, sometimes you can be so dense, Tucker.”

“Well, I’m sorry we can’t all be brilliant like you, Annabel,” I snapped back.

“I wishyoucould be! Then maybe you wouldn’t be screwing everything up with my sister!”

My fingers locked together behind my neck, gripping in aggravation. “Screwing up? Screwing up?! It’s already screwed up! Our baby’s dead! I killed her!”

“You can’t think that way, son.” Dad stepped closer to put a hand on my shoulder, but I jerked away.

“I can because it’s true! And Izzy knows it.”

“No!” Annie tossed back. “Izzy doesn’t blame you, you idiot. She wouldn’t cry for you in her sleep if she did.”

“What?” Hope staggered in my chest.

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