Page 109 of Saving Ren

She lets out a small sob that guts me as she cowers and steps away from me. I shake my head.

“Let me help you. I’d never hurt you, not ever. You know that, Ren, you fucking know that.”

Holding her phone, jeans, and ankle boots against her, she turns to look at me. Her brows are raised, eyes still wide and I can see her entire body physically shake.

“Please, just let me in the house to get my stuff, and I’ll leave. I just need to get some—some things.” She sobs out the last two words.

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry,” I tell her as I follow her to the front door. She doesn’t reply, instead, she steps to the side, giving me a wide birth so I can open it for her.

Pushing at the door, I move out of the way.

“I’ll go,” I tell her. “You stay here. Go up and shower. Warm yourself up. I’m gonna go. I’ll stay at my brother’s tonight. You stay here, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

When I give her the space to move past me, she’s shaking her head but doesn’t say anything.

“You’ve nowhere to go, Ren. Please. . . Look. . .” I take my house key off my keyring and throw it into the hallway. “I won’t come back tonight, I promise. I’ll call you tomorrow, and we’ll talk, but please, please don’t leave.”

I watch as she walks inside, bends and picks up the key, gripping it in her hand as she holds it to her chest.

“Please, Ren. Please don’t go,” I repeat. She stands there, hair and body dripping wet and vibrating with fear as she gives me a small nod.

“I’m so sorry,” I repeat before climbing back into my truck, pulling out of my drive and onto the esplanade.

* * *

Palms pressedagainst the frame surrounding Cooper’s door, I wait for someone to open it. When it finally swings back, it’s Jess I come face to face with. She smiles, opens her mouth to say something then closes it when her eyes meet mine. Once she’s done a top-to-toe scan and sees that I’m not physically hurt, she steps aside.

“What happened?” she asks quietly.

I don’t move from the doorway.

“Coop,” she calls before stepping closer to me. “What happened, Gabe?”

“I fucked up,” I squeeze out around the ball of guilt and self-loathing lodged in my chest and throat.

Staring down at the floor, I feel too ashamed to look Jess in the eye and admit what I did. Her hand brushes the side of my face, her warm palm remains there, and that’s when I feel the tears burn the backs of my eyes.

“Dude, what happened? You okay?” I hear my brother ask. I swallow a couple of times, then let out a long-held breath before looking up and meeting both their eyes.

Instead of talking, I shake my head.

“Get in here,” Cooper orders as he hooks his arm over my shoulder and pulls me into the house. Steering me towards his den, I hear Jess call out, “Is this a beer or bourbon kind of fuck up?”

“He can’t even talk, Jess. I’m guessing bourbon.”

Jess is already behind the bar pouring our drinks when I sit down on a stool in front of her. Cooper sits down next to me.

My sister-in-law pushes a half-filled glass towards each of us and leaves the bottle on the bar as she starts to walk away.

“Stay?” I request. “I don’t know how I’m gonna fix this, I’m gonna need all the help I can get.”

“Sure.”

With her lips pressed together tightly, she gives a small smile and a quick nod. Moving back around the bar, I watch as she pours herself a glass of wine.

“Fuck me, what did you do, little brother?”

I knock back the entire contents of my glass without even bothering to add ice. The warmth hits my belly, and I savour it for a few long moments before meeting my brother’s concerned brown eyes.