Page 52 of Property of Bones

“It’s alright.” She smiles faintly. “I just wanted you to know... I understand that fear. The fear of feeling so safe you don’t ever want to leave.”

“Four years ago,” Abby says, her voice quiet but steady, “I was on a graduation trip with a few friends. We were celebrating graduation collage.”

“Abby, you don’t have to…” Riley starts.

“No, I do,” she cuts in gently. “Because Sunny needs to hear it. Those feelings she’s having? They’ll scare her. Make her want to run. Make her convince herself she wantsoutbefore she can get hurt. But you have to fight that instinct, Sunny.”

I swallow hard. “I don’t... really want to leave.”

“Neither did I,” Abby says softly. “But I did.”

She glances out across the room like she’s seeing something far away.

“While we were on that trip, we were abducted. A branch of Los Fantasmas. My friends... didn’t make it. I was held for three months.”

My hand flies to my mouth. “Oh no…”

“Spike found me and brought me back here. I felt safe even though we’re so close to the border. But the more I had time to think, the more scared I became of that safety.I was terrified it would be ripped away again. That I’d lose it. So, I left. I told myself it was smart. That it was safer not to care.”

Her voice wavers. Just a little.

“I went to live with my other brother. Sam tried. He really did. But I was always on edge. Always bracing for the worst. I couldn’t live... because I didn’t feel like I had a reason to.”

Her eyes meet mine, full of something fierce.

“They made me come back here when Sam had to leave for work. And now? That feeling of safety is back. But so is that urge to run away before I get hurt. It’s still scary. But I’d rather take that risk…risklosingit…than keep barely surviving. Because here... I can actuallylive.”

I don’t know what to say.

I sit there, tea forgotten in my hands, throat tight and eyes burning. These women. These fierce, beautiful survivors just handed me their stories like fragile gifts wrapped in scars. And all I can think is:Why me?

Why do I get to feel this safe? This…wanted?

And why does it scare the absolute hell out of me?

“I didn’t realize…” I whisper, voice cracking. “You both went through so much. I’ve never been through anything like that.”

Riley leans forward, setting her glass down. “Pain doesn’t come with a measuring stick, Sunny. You don’t have to almostdie to be allowed to feel shaken. You’re allowed to be scared. You’re allowed to want to stay.”

“But I don’tdeserveto feel this safe,” I admit, the words slipping out before I can stop them. “I didn’t earn it. I didn’t fight my way here. I just… fell into it. Intohim.”

Abby’s gaze softens. “Sometimes fallingisthe fight.”

That undoes me.

A single tear escapes, sliding down my cheek before I can catch it. I swipe at it quickly, hoping they won’t notice. Of course, they notice.

They don’t say anything.

They just… sit with me. Let me feel it. Let me crack.

I don’t know how long we sit there like that…just breathing, justbeing.

But eventually, I shake it off, let the heaviness of the moment pass like a summer storm.

“Thank you, ladies,” I say with a soft smile. “I really needed that talk.”

“No problem,” Abby says, though her eyes are still a little far away. “Just promise me you won’t fight what’s in your heart.”

---