Page 132 of Ink Me Three Times
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I don’t know. No? Yes? I’m somewhere between total breakdown and… running into the ocean and starting over.”
He lets out a low whistle, then looks at me again. “And… do you know who the…?”
I cut him off with a small shake of my head.
“Well, it’s you, Mitchell, or Freddie.”
Timothy blinks.
Once. Twice.
His mouth opens, then closes. He’s doing the mental math and trying not to flinch.
I wait for the shock, the recoil. The part where he pulls back and says something,even how the hell did this happen?orwhat were you thinking?
But he just says, “Okay,” like it’s a full sentence.
I brace for it. The judgment. The disappointment. The look.
But it doesn’t come.
Timothy just exhales and leans forward, elbows on his knees. “Okay. That’s a lot.”
“I know.”
“And you’ve been holding all of this in?”
I nod again, feeling the tears burn at the back of my throat. “I was waiting for the right moment. And then Trina showed up. And I saw her with Freddie and…” My voice cracks. “I don’tknow. I just couldn’t keep it in anymore. I needed to say it out loud.”
He turns toward me then, full on, his face open and worried.
“Ivy, this is… huge. Massive. But I’m glad you told me. I’m really glad you’re not carrying this alone.”
And then he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug so firm and warm that I finally let the tears come.
Not the full on sobs. Not yet.
But enough.
Enough to feel the crack in me shift, widen, and start to heal.
“I’ve got you,” he says into my hair. “I’m here. Whatever happens. You’re not doing this by yourself.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me, eyes still soft with worry and wonder. “Hey… do you want to come with me to the shop?”
I blink. “Now?”
He shrugs, gives a half smile. “Mitchell’s probably there. Maybe Freddie too. I heard Penny’s hanging out at the fire station today. You said you didn’t know how to tell them. I figure… maybe I could help you.”
I hesitate.
The idea of walking in there, of seeing both of them, of seeingFreddie, makes my stomach twist. What if he still smells of her perfume? What if he acts like nothing happened? What if he does?
But then again… he deserves to know.
They both do.
I stare out at the water for a moment longer, fog curling, breath across the surface. Pickle noses my leg, nudging me forward.
