Page 106 of Unloved

Her hair is frizzy, bigger than I’ve seen it—like her curls took on the stress and anxiety of the evening as much as her body did. She’s still wearing what she wore to work, I assume: jeans and a flowysage-green top. The ribbon holding her hair up is sad and droopy now, the entire ponytail nearly undone.

Shaking hands with pearly nails reach up to wipe newly formed tears, her bottom lip trembling as she shakes her head. Her face is pale, hazel eyes red and watery.

“S-sorry.”

I shut the door behind myself.

“Come here, Rosalie,” I whisper, and she collapses into my arms. I press my back against the door and take her full weight, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her hair and along her forehead while I whisper, “It’s okay. Sadie, Liam, Oliver—they’re all okay. Everyone is safe and okay. You’re okay, Ro.”

“It’s my fau—”

“It isnotyour fault,” I say, pushing her away from me a little. “Hey, hey.” I wait until her eyes are locked firmly on mine so she can see the ferocity in my stare. “None of this is your fault, okay? You didn’t do anything.”

“I tried to call—”

“I know, princess.” I crush her back into my chest. “You’re so perfect, so selfless. You doeverythingfor everyone around you—and tonight was a freak accident. It could have happened to Sadie if she was picking them up, to Rhys, to Anna or Max—anyof them. Would you want Sadie beating herself up over this?”

She shakes her head, forehead rubbing across my stiff button-down and suit jacket.

“Would you think Rhys was bad for Sadie if this happened to him?’?”

She shakes her head again.

“Exactly. So let’s get rid of any of the self-blame stuff, okay?”

“Okay.”

I wait for her to release me, but she only hugs me tighter, whichsends a thrill of being wanted,neededfor pure comfort, zinging up my spine.

Until I feel her shuddering increase and realize… she’s sobbing. Hard.

“Whoa.” I gently try to pry her from my body but she doesn’t budge. “Rosalie, please.”

Finally pushing her back enough, I can see she’s crying desperately now and my stomach drops.

“Hey, hey, hey.” I smooth her hair back from her face over and over. “It’s killing me to see you cry, princess. Please.”

“I’m s-sorry,” she splutters, words mangled and caught up in sobs.

“Don’t apologize, love, just tell me what I can do to fix it. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I think—” She hiccups a few breaths, trying to get enough air to speak, before whispering, “I miss my family,” into the quiet, darkened room.

My body settles with the ache of a familiar pain.Me too, princess.

“Okay.” I nod, pressing another kiss to her forehead and tightening my hug around her for one last squeeze. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. I want you to go shower, do whatever you need to do to relax and feel good again. Cry if you need to, take your time.”

I can’t stop fluttering little kisses across her skin, especially as it seems to soften her cries until they are fewer and further between.

“Okay.”

“Can I use your computer while you’re in there, princess?”

She nods before sliding from my arms and into her room with my hand in hers. She lets me settle onto the end of her bed with her opened laptop in my lap before she gathers more clothes and heads to the bathroom.

I wait until the water is on before biting my tongue to swallowthe anxiety of what I’m about to do and hitting the call button on her screen.

They answer on the second ring.

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