Page 10 of Built to Fall
Lina waves me off. “Long story. Not important.”
Eden’s not the best at sensing when somebody doesn’t want to talk about something, though, because she immediately follows with, “Make a long story short. He cheated on you. He’s not a playboy, just an idiot asshole.”
Lina’s back goes rigid as she stands straight again. She becomes so distracted that she forgets about the glass of water still in her hand, because a second later, the sound of glass shattering rings through the kitchen. Lina jolts backward, the back of her thighs hitting the stove behind her.
Braxton and I both move quickly, and while he heads down the hallway to grab the broom from the closet, I round the island.
Knowing there’s glass all over the floor sends me into overdrive. My brain immediately begins to fire off a list of every worst-case scenario, wondering if there was something I could have done to prevent it. All I can focus on is the idea of Lina stepping back on a piece of glass or Eden panicking and slipping.
Help them. Help them. Help her,my brain screams.
“Are you okay?” I manage to ask Lina through a measured breath.
Eden and Meredith have already made their way out of the glass-littered kitchen, but Lina? She’s frozen. She also doesn’t answer my question.
Her face is completely void as she stares down at the floor, and I don’t need any more context to the story to know she’s shutting down.
“Lina,” Eden says. “I didn’t mean?—”
“Stop.” I hold out a hand. “Let’s not talk about it anymore.” Clearly, it’s some kind of trigger for her, and she’s already panicking.
I look back down the hallway, searching for where the hell Braxton is with the broom. At the same time, I hear him curse from where he is inside the closet. “God damn it. Where is this thing?”
“Lina,” I try to grab her attention, stepping over the pile of glass.
The cup she dropped was thick, heavy-duty glass. It could be everywhere. Hell, there could be a piece under her heel right now, and she wouldn’t even notice. That thought alone makes me feel like I’m coming out of my skin.
I should’ve stopped this. I should’ve seen it coming.
“Are you okay?” I ask her again, the distance between us much smaller now.
Something snaps, and she looks up at me. “I?—”
I make the decision to do what I would do for any girl in this position. Savannah, my sisters, it doesn’t matter. I loop my arms under her knees and around her shoulders before picking her up, stepping over the glass, and carrying her toward the barstool on the opposite side of the island.
It’s the only thing I can do to get a grasp of the situation. I have to do it for my own sake.
Her black leggings are already low on her waist, part of the waistband folded over itself. I shift her slightly in my hold, trying not to notice the sliver of skin that’s exposed from her crewneck riding up her stomach.
When I set her down on the seat, making sure she’s steady, I can see the moment she blinks out of the fog she was in.
“Shit,” she groans, rubbing her hands over her eyes. “What the fuck?”
Eden and Meredith both take slow steps toward her, while Braxton exits the closet, exhaling, “Fucking finally.”
He must have found the broom.
“Are you okay?” Eden asks her, placing a small hand on her shoulder.
Lina silently nods. “I’m not sure what happened there.”
“You don’t have to talk about it,” Meredith tells her.
“Sorry about the glass,” she says through another long breath.
As I step back, the girls both assure her that it’s fine. Braxton has already gotten a majority of the glass swept up, and he hands me the dustpan to throw away.
When I glance back at Lina, she’s stifling a yawn.
