Page 245 of Rosetti Family New York
He answers low.
“She died because someone else didn’t.”
We stand like that for a beat. The city lights glitter below us. I stare out, jaw tight.
“What about Ethan?” I ask, voice tight. “He’s a low-life, but he loved her. He’s still my best friend’s boyfriend, but I kind of want to kill him. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel.”
Rafe sounds flat.
“He knew what he was doing. That doesn’t change because he dated her.”
“I know that,” I snap. “You don’t have to make it sound so clean.”
He finally looks at me, really looks, and his voice softens.
“It’s not clean. None of this is.”
I exhale sharply and turn away. He steps closer, and his voice grows gentler.
“You loved her. And now you’re drowning in what’s left.”
“She was the good one,” I whisper.
He doesn’t argue. He just lets the silence sit until I meet his eyes, full of something I can’t name.
“I feel like every time I get close to answers, I lose more of her,” I say.
He moves even closer.
“Then stop looking for answers in people who let her die.”
I flinch. He closes the gap, hands on my arms. My voice cracks.
“She trusted him, Ethan, the Red Hooks, she trusted all the wrong people. So did I.”
He holds me firmly.
“You didn’t trust me.”
I lift my gaze to his.
“I do now,” I say.
His jaw clenches. The tension spikes, and then he’s on me. Hands in my hair, mouth crushing into mine like I’m the only solid thing left in the world.
“I tried to stay away,” he murmurs against my lips.
I pull him closer.
“Don’t.”
He walks me backward until my back presses against the cold stone wall. The wind tangles my hair. His hands slip beneath my shirt to my waist.
His voice is gritted.
“You don’t get to look at me like I’m anything close to safe.”
“You are,” I murmur, breathless. “When I’m with you, I don’t feel lost anymore.”
