Page 123 of Echoes of You

Tears tracked down her cheeks. “He must’ve known how I really felt about you.”

Icy claws dug into my gut.

“At first, he just got annoyed when you and I talked. Then he got angry. Would yell at me. Accuse me of being unfaithful.”

Sweat gathered at the base of my spine. “Tell me he didn’t hurt you because of me.”

The tears came faster, and I had my answer.

“How often?” I asked.

I played back how the last few years had gone. At first, we’d talked daily, then less and less. I’d been annoyed. Hurt. Angry that Maddie could move on so easily, as if I were just a casual acquaintance. But all that time…

“It doesn’t matter,” she said softly.

I stood, setting Maddie on her feet. I couldn’t sit still. I had to move. Clyde jumped between us, thinking it was a game.

“Of course, it matters. How often?” My voice had a bite to it. It wasn’t directed at Maddie. It was all for me. How could I have been this blind? Again.

Tears slid off her chin, falling to the ground. “Not every time.”

My heart stopped. “But close.” My words were barely audible.

“He didn’t always hit me. Sometimes, he just yelled. But the day I left him…You called to tell me about Drew’s lacrosse game. He wasn’t supposed to be home for hours. I was so happy that we could just talk like old times.”

The conversation replayed in my mind. We’d talked for longer than we had in months. I’d been so damn relieved. It’d felt like I had a piece of Maddie back.

“I didn’t hear him come home. Usually, I’m more careful, on alert, but we were laughing about the crazy parents yelling at the ref’s calls.”

“That one mom who got ejected.” My voice was dull, empty of all emotion.

Maddie nodded. “When I hung up, he stepped into the living room. He knew exactly how long we’d been talking. Had timed it. I tried to get away and run for the door, but he was on me too fast.” A tear slipped free, cascading down her cheek. “I’ve never seen him that mad. I thought he was going to kill me.”

I sucked in a breath. Acid coated every atom, leaving behind burns I’d never recover from.

I tried to do the math in my head. Calculate just how many times I’d been the catalyst for Maddie’s torture. But there were too many to count.

“Why didn’t you just block my calls?” I croaked.

“I couldn’t. It would’ve been like cutting off a limb.”

Instead, she’d paid the price for us both.

41

MADDIE

My entire body trembled,each vibration utterly painful. The agony was a mixture of memories and knowing that I was hurting Nash—the last thing I ever wanted to do.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. For so much. Falling for Adam’s pretty lies. Staying when I should’ve left. Letting him hurt me. Hiding it all from the person I shared everything with. And dumping it all on Nash now.

None of it was fair. Not a damn thing. But I had to tell him. He had to understand how deep the hatred went. Adam would do anything to hurt Nash simply because he mattered to me.

Nash was quiet, but his body was anything but silent. It moved in staccato motions as if energy were bubbling beneath the surface, just dying to get free. “None of this is your fault.”

His words only broke my heart more. Because I saw the truth. Nash was taking this all onhisshoulders. “It’s not yours either.”

I reached out, wanting to comfort him, but Nash stepped out of my reach. That tiny movement shattered something inside me.

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