Everett felt elated when he felt the sting of her hand on his cheek. He interpreted it as an emotional response, causing her to disconnect from the rest of the world. Everett could still reach out, and she’d respond. Everett worried about the consequences if Rebecca didn’t control her anger and feared it might be too late for her. That would have killed him, too.
He truly saw Rebecca now. Everett admired her strength and drive. Now he saw what he’d missed earlier. He saw how much she resembled a wounded animal. Everett feared she believed herself too wounded to survive. She endured the daily grind to hide her proximity to the brink of despair. If she lashed out, Everett believed, her protecting herself like this meant she wasn’t ready to give up. Rebecca wasn’t an unresponsive defeated ball.
“Everett, we won’t work on that. How could you say anything like that?”
“Simple. This is day one of our whirlwind romance. This is what grand romant
