Chapter 18

At his lowest, Trent wished that Lizzie would leave him alone. He couldn’t bear to have her see him like this. And even worse, she’d heard every word out of Edward’s mouth. She’d learned things about Trent he’d never wanted her to know.

She touched his hand. “Please say something. Anything. Can you hear me?”

He tried to reply, but he could only gulp in air. It was like he was no longer connected to his body. He could see everything happening, but it was from very far away. He forced himself to stand, but he staggered a little. Lizzie held him up, but he pushed her away gently.

“I’m okay,” he rasped. “You don’t need to be here.”

“As if I’m going to leave you now? Jesus, Trent, you look like you could collapse any second.” She pushed his hair away from his forehead. “I’m not going to leave you alone.”

He leaned against the wall behind him, taking in deep breaths of cool air. His head pounded. It was ironic, really, that when he’d wanted Lizzie most, she’d left him, but now