VIVIAN

I didn’t know what upset me more: the fact that Jesse was suturing his wound at the kitchen table, or the fact

that he refused to even look at me.

I sat across from him, squirming in my seat, not because his at-home surgery was freaking me out, but because it looked painful, and he wouldn’t let me come anywhere near to help.

Jesse winced as he applied the antiseptic.

I reached out to him. “Please, just let me—”

“No.”

It was difficult to breathe past the sticky lump lodged at the back of my throat. I hadn’t been able to stop shivering since we got back. I wasn’t...