Page 17 of Don't Say You're Sorry

“Yeah. No sign of that big stick up his ass.”

She playfully taps my shoulder.

The more she scrolls, the more I see it. Their happiness.Herhappiness. It’s hard to ignore it when it’s right there in front of me. Yet another reason why I avoid family time.

I couldn’t do it to her.

All this hurt, all the pain Adam caused me…

It was for her. All for that smile on her face.

Understanding and resentment war within me. It’s not fair. It’s notright. It’s?—

Veronica scrolls to the next image, and I force the thoughts out of my head. It doesn’t matter anymore. What’s done is done. There’s no changing what happened.

The next few shots are of me and Frankie. Her hand is in mine, her long ash blonde hair curling down her back, and she’s wearing a floor-length, deep purple dress that clings to her curves. She looks incredible. I’m grinning at her because after I told her just that, she’d said, “Don’t say that too loudly. All the hot moms in here will think I’m your girl.”

“She’s beautiful,” Veronica says.

She is. Inside and out. I’ve only known Frankie a few months, but we clicked instantly. She’s one of the best and most loyal friends I’ve ever had. I don’t think there’s a lot she wouldn’tdo for the people she loves. I hope whoever hurt her kicks themselves every night for being dumb enough to let her go.

I turn my face when I feel Veronica looking at me.

“Nosy,” I tease, gently bumping her shoulder with mine. “Frankie’s not your future daughter-in-law. Sorry.”

“Damn,” she huffs jokingly.

We get to the pictures of her and my dad’s dance, and I try not to look at her smile this time. Instead, I look at Adam in the background behind them. At first he’s watching our parents, but then he’s not. He’s looking at me, and I’m looking at him, our gazes locked. It was only for a second or two, but the evidence is right there on the screen.

As if she doesn’t see what I’m seeing, Veronica keeps scrolling at a leisurely pace. “Are you feeling better?” she asks.

“Hm?”

“Adam said you left last night because you weren’t feeling well.”

“Oh, right. It was just a headache. I’m okay now.”

“Good.” She smiles and sips her tea.

I scrutinize every shot as she goes through the rest, checking every background to see if Adam or I are in any more of them. To make sure we weren’t caught sneaking into the bathroom together. To make sure there are no shots of me cupping my hand after I hit him, and no shots of his bloody nose. Thankfully, there aren’t. He must have laid low until he left to come to my house. Nothing at all of Axel, but that doesn’t surprise me. That selfish little asshole probably didn’t even bother to show up for his mom. I want to ask if Veronica knows he’s back in Hawthorne, but I don’t want to hurt her if the answer is no, which is why I keep my mouth shut. It’s none of my business. Veronica’s my family and always will be, but her sons haven’t been my family in a long time. They’re nothing more than strangers to me now.

Nothing. Nothing…

“I’ve gotta get going,” I say, standing to place my empty mug into the dishwasher. “I just need to grab something from my room first.”

“Okay, sweetie.”

I feign annoyance. “Don’t call me sweetie.”

“Sorry, pumpkin,” she says with a straight face.

I snort.

The front door opens, and my dad walks in with a grocery bag. I tip my chin at him in greeting before heading upstairs to get away from him.

“Are you staying for dinner?” he calls.

Assuming Veronica will answer that for me, I ignore him.