Page 114 of Almost Beautiful (Beautiful 3)

Travis’s jaw worked beneath his skin, and he pulled his lips to the side in an attempt to not cry.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he rested his cheek on top of my hair.

“Hey,” a man said from behind us, putting his hand on Travis’s shoulder.

“Adam,” Travis said, looking around.

“I know, I shouldn’t be here.”

“You should both be here,” I said. “Everyone deserves to heal.” I hugged him, and he squeezed me tight.

Once the song was over, people began hugging and chatting. Travis, Shepley, and Trenton embraced, holding one another for a long time. America hooked her arm in mine, and I took Cami’s hand. And then, something we didn’t expect happened.

“Travis?”

The girl’s red, puffy eyes looked up at my husband, a ghost of a smile on her face.

I could see Travis bracing for the worst. “Yeah?”

“My name is Brittni.” She glanced back at the obelisk. “I was there that night. I tripped and fell. Got turned around. It was so smoky I couldn’t find the exit. Everyone was running over me, knocking me down every time I tried to get up, but you saw me, got me to my feet and pointed me to Adam,” she said, looking at him. “And you got me out. You saved my life. Thank you both so much.”

“Hi,” another girl said. “You don’t know me, but you’re the guy who helped me out of the exit.”

“I did?” Adam asked, touching his chest.

She nodded. “I’m Amy. Can I hug you?”

“Yeah,” Adam said, a bit bewildered.

One by one, more people came, both men and women, to hug Adam and Travis and thank them for directing them out and saving their lives.

With each embrace, I saw the guilt that had weighed on Travis for the last year get a little lighter. When a line formed, tears began to spill over Travis’s cheeks, and then Adam’s. More people had something to say to Adam because Travis eventually left to find me, but it was heartening to witness Adam find comfort, too.

Back at the apartment, Travis came out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist, water still dripping down his arms and chest. He fell to his back on the bed, emotionally exhausted.

I was already showered and in my PJs, waiting for him to join me.

I leaned down to kiss his forehead. “I knew it would be good for you to go, but I never expected that.”

“Me, either. To be honest, Pidge, I was in survival mode. I don’t remember all those people. I was on autopilot.”

“Well, your autopilot is a hero, too.”

“Not a hero,” he said, his brows pulling in. “Not even close. If it wasn’t for me, those people wouldn’t have even been there.”

“That’s true. If you weren’t so entertaining to watch, they wouldn’t have been there to see it. If they hadn’t wanted to pay, Adam wouldn’t have kept organizing them. If we hadn’t gotten busted the fight before, Adam wouldn’t have used the lanterns. If it wasn’t the final fight of the year, it wouldn’t have been so packed. If they had other, better things to do, they would’ve been somewhere else.

“There were a dozen variables, Travis, and you controlled none of them. Those people, hugging you with tears in their eyes? They were there tonight because of you, too. Sometimes things come together perfectly for good, and sometimes for tragedy. It doesn’t mean you deserve all the blame.”

His brows furrowed. “I deserve some of it.”

“Everyone who was there deserves some of it. That’s my point.”

He sighed. “I have to get up early. We should get some rest.”

The sheets ruffled as we climbed beneath them and situated ourselves. I sat a little higher so Travis could lie against my chest and relax in my arms. Still, he was restless. Fidgeting.

“What is the itinerary for the conference?” I asked.