Page 119 of Break the Barrier

Lue clears her throat, and I glance at her. Her eyes widen, and she tilts her head to Thea, who’s staring down at her splinted hand on the counter.

“I—thank you,” I fumble out, pressing my hands against the opposite side of the island. “I appreciate you getting her home safe.”

Thea smiles, glancing up at me quickly and nodding. “No problem. It needs about ten more minutes.”

She turns to Lue and opens her arms. Lue happily steps into them, holding Thea tightly to her.

I watch Thea’s eyes shut, her face shuttered in sadness, and she holds Lue just as tight, kissing her once on the top of her head before releasing her. “Be good.”

“I will,” Lue replies softly.

Thea turns slowly and starts to make her way out of the kitchen, limping as she does. She steadies herself using the island on her right side, and I grimace when I see the pain on her face as she puts weight on her left leg. The cuts that piece of shit left behind clearly did some damage.

“Let me help,” I say, reaching for her, but her hand shoots up.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got it.”

I bite my tongue, my sudden need to get in her face and just shake some sense into her, to say, “Just let me help you!”

The urge is so real that I have to grip the counter to prevent myself from actually doing it.

Pain lances through my chest as I watch her limp her way down the hallway. She’s almost out the door when I march up behind her, grasping for her hand.

Don’t let her go.

“Why are you here?” My words come out more harshly than I intend, and when she turns to me, I see the tears in her eyes. Regret hits me all over again.

“I’m showing up.” She swallows hard against tears that are obviously threatening to fall. “I’m sorry for everything. I want you to know that if I could go back, I would do so many things differently.” She bites her trembling lip, and I unintentionally squeeze her hand in my own. “I don’t know what else to do but show up.”

With those parting words, she releases my hand.

Thea leaves, and I watch her do it.

48

thea

I bitedown on my lip, my fingers hovering over the send button on my text and sigh, shaking my head at how ridiculous I was being.

Lue has asked me to go with her to pick out a dress for a dance that’s going on at her school this weekend. I’m thrilled she wants me to help, and that despite Logan and me barely speaking, she kept coming around and allowing me to be a part of her life.

Even if she still sarcastically calls me Mom.

I told her that Logan and I weren’t really married, that she doesn’t need to call me that, and if she did it where Logan could hear, he would probably be pretty ticked.

Lue shrugged at me when I said it, saying she didn’t really care.

She was turning into quite a spitfire in her old age.

My sisters, now knowing the truth of everything and being highly aware that Logan and I were technically husband andwife, thought that Lue’s jokes about it were hilarious and encouraged her to call them her aunts.

She was more than happy to oblige.

Even Ophelia, who had to go back to college, and Tori, who was sticking around for now, had gotten in on the joke.

I didn’t think it was funny.

Mostly because every time I heard it, my heart ached just a little bit more at how untrue the statements were.