"It wasn’t intentional," Misha says, shaking his head. He doesn’t sound that sure. "We weren’t trying to do anything; we just…"
I hold my hand up to stop him from talking, shaking my head too, backing away from him. "I want to help Tom," I say. "But after this is over, I want nothing to do with you. With any of you."
He opens his mouth to argue, but clasps his lips shut instead. His eyes darken, but he says nothing. He nods instead. "I never meant to hurt your feelings," he says. "None of us did."
That’s not really an apology, and in any case, I don’t want to hear it.
He was right. I need to leave.
"I’ll see you later," I say.
I walk to my car, get in the driver’s seat, and slam the door as I turn the key in the ignition. And when I drive away, I force myself not to look in the rearview mirror, no matter how much I want to.