Page 100 of Push

Toby threw his head back and groaned at the ceiling. “Pickanyother game butClue. Literally, no one has ever beaten you.”

“All the more reason to play,” I teased.

His puppy dog eyes turned to Marnie. “Mar.Please. Veto?”

“No way! I have a shot at winning for once.” She flopped onto the couch. “The undefeated duo is no more.”

The room went dead silent.

My heart was stuck somewhere in my throat. Toby didn’t move, his gaze pinned to his feet. Marnie was only joking around, but the finality of those words hit like a freight train. Was that what I wanted?

Her eyes darted between the two of us. “Sorry,” she grumbled. “Hey!” She smiled up at Toby as she pointed at the empty glasses. “Can I pour you one? It’s a ’95 Shiraz.”

“Oh, um…” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “No, thanks. I quit.”

“You…quit…?” Marnie couldn’t process his words. She was horrified.

“Uh, yeah, I stopped drinking… after…” Toby’s shoulders sagged as he turned his pained gaze to me. “I don’t drink anymore.”

Marnie wasn’t buying it. “Didn’t you go out with the hot guy with glasses for a beer last night?”

“I got a soda water,” he admitted quietly.

Awkward tension fizzled around us, and no one seemed sure what to say to make the situation less uncomfortable.

“You guys were a lot more fun before you decided to grow up and have a kid,” Marnie grumbled. “Oh, well, all the more for me!” She grabbed her glass, poured too much wine, and gulped a mouthful. “Too bad Ian’s not here. Say what you will about the man, he certainly knows how to enjoy himself. He’d have his greedy mitts all over this.”

My veins turned to ice. I dropped the cracker I’d just loaded with cheese. My hand shook. No. My whole body shook.

I tried calming the frantic thump of my heart with a sharp reminder that Marnie didn’t know. We’d put her in an unfair position. She was only trying to ease the tension. Another part of my brain—the broken part—wasn’t playing the rational game. Buried thoughts crept from the dark places I kept them safely hidden.

“I, um…” I shook my head and tried to force my mind away from the past. My stomach flipped. It was no good. I was there. With Ian. Pinned against the wall. His breath on my neck…

“Gwen!” Toby strode around the coffee table, worry creasing his brow, heading for me, but he wasn’t quick enough.

I jumped off the couch and bolted for my life.

32

She Listened to Advice

Gwen

The bathroom door flewopen, and I skated across the tiles, stumbling in front of the toilet with barely a second to spare. The cheese and gherkin nibblies didn’t look as yummy the second time around.

My whole world was off-kilter.

Burning up, freezing, my body in shock, I didn’t make it to the sink to wash my face. The cold, tiled wall was as far as I got. I slid to the floor and slumped in a heap in the corner.

Footsteps stopped outside the door. The handle turned, and without any strength to call out, I flattened myself against the wall and shielded my face with my shoulder.

“Gwen.” Toby’s voice was unbearably gentle.

“Go away,” I managed to choke out.

His steps were cautious. “And miss the chance of reliving the glory days of your pregnancy?” He touched a hand to myshoulder before he reached past me to flush the toilet. “Not a chance.”

He flicked on the faucet, grabbed a washcloth off the hook, and rinsed it under the water. He crouched behind me.

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