“Mom didn’t want to tell anyone yet, but they just found out she was having a girl.” His voice is shaking. “I was supposed to have a baby sister.”
Did I unknowingly contribute to his family’s death? Even if my parents knew, did I put everything in motion to get them in trouble by spilling a secret that wasn’t mine in the first place?
Ice freezes my veins and I slam my eyes shut to block out his expression. It hurts my heart too much. This is why he’s hated me. This is how our friendship was destroyed.
Fox hasn’t only been living with the grief of losing his parents to tragedy all these years. It’s so much worse than I ever could have imagined.
“Murdered.” The word tastes like ash on my tongue, but I force it out.
My eyes open slowly and I stare at his unyielding jawline as my thoughts turn. The police report. The investigation was ruled an accident, the coroner report missing. I knew it was suspicious that there was information missing from it and that Dad’s signature was all over it. Fox’s weird behavior and the way he’s been lurking around town bribing people makes sense now. I’ve finally figured out what he’s been up to.
“You’re trying to prove it.”
It takes him a long time to answer. He studies me, not letting up on his punishing grip.
“Yes.”
“How? You’re nineteen.”
“That doesn’t concern you. I have to do this. I won’t let the people that did this to my family get away with it. They don’t get to enjoy the power they got by killing my family.” His conflicted tone breaks my heart as he breaks off, swallowing audibly. The sorrow threatens to drag me under. “You helped them by breaking that promise. No one would’ve found out what they were hiding.”
“That’s not true. I told you my parents already knew!” I have to believe it’s not true, rejecting the idea that I inadvertently helped hurt them.
Fox grunts as he bears down on me, finally releasing my arms in favor of locking his fingers around my throat as he gets in my face.
“Why do you think your Mom was promoted to CEO out of nowhere? Check the damn dates. That’s the level the people behind this are working at.” His hand flexes and I struggle to draw my next breath. “That’s what your broken promise did.”
My heart crushes under the weight of guilt. “I was eight! We were just kids!”
“Tell that to my dead parents!”
Fox smacks a palm against the brick over my head and backs away with a frustrated noise. I reach up to rub my neck. My throat burns like I’ve swallowed thousands of knives, but not from his rough handling.
“So you hate me because you think I helped the people that did this?”
The question hurts because part of me actually wonders if I’m remembering the events of that day wrong and I did inadvertently have a hand in it all, but I force it out. Fox gives me a low rumble in response.
“You seriously believe I would hurt you so deeply when I’ve always lo—” I clamp my mouth shut as he crushes me against the wall with his body once more. Both of us are breathing hard. I lick my lips and tilt my chin up. His searching gaze tracks the movement. “I would never hurt you like that.”
“Then why did you break your promise?”
Fox sounds gutted and it stabs a knife into my stomach. I shudder at the way everything about him seems torn to shreds. He’s carried the weight of this pain on his shoulders for ten years and it’s killing him.
It makes me want to take all of his anger and grief and hurt. I’ll bear the weight of it for him. I just want to take it away so he doesn’t sound so utterly damaged by the world.
Reaching up, I cup his face. His cheek turns hard, a muscle jumping beneath my palm. But he doesn’t pull away. I dig into the flare of hope that gives me.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Determination fills me, giving me strength. I wait until he meets my gaze in the dim shadows. “My heart knows yours, Fox Michael Wilder. It always has. I never ever forgot.” I lower my voice. “Did yours forget me?”
“No. Never.” It comes out on a broken growl.
“Then you have to know I wouldn’t betray your trust to hurt you on purpose. I’m n
ot your enemy. I’m sorry, Fox.”
As soon as the words leave me, I wind my arms around his neck and hug him. He remains stiff for a long stretch of seconds. I close my eyes tight, hugging him harder.
Slowly, his muscular arms come around me until he’s crushing me into his embrace. He buries his hands in my dress and holds me.