"Suicide? You’re telling me my sister tried to kill herself?"
The officer nodded. "We found a note in her bag. It wasn’t finished. Just one line: 'I just want the pain to stop.'"
Jasper’s face turned red, his jaw clenched.
"Where’s my mother?" he demanded, pacing like a lion.
"She’s on her way," Sierra whispered, trying to calm him.
"She better have an explanation," he growled. "She better have a DAMN GOOD REASON why my baby sister wanted to DIE."
I stood and grabbed his arm. "Jas—"
He turned to me, tears streaking down his face. "You knew something, didn’t you? You’re her friend too. You knew she was hurting. Why didn’t you tell me?"
"I didn’t know it was this bad," I whispered. My throat was raw. "I swear. If I did—"
He shoved me away, then crumbled onto the nearest chair.
"I failed her."
I sat beside him. "No. This isn’t your fault. But someone has to answer for this. You need to make your mom talk. And that Young bastard—"
"I’ll kill him," Jasper spat. "I swear to God, Ace. I will kill him if he touched her."
I didn’t reply. Because deep down, I knew Jasper wasn’t being dramatic. He meant every word. And I wasn’t sure I’d stop him.
So we waited.
Hours passed.
Every second felt like an eternity.
All I could think about was the first time Brit smiled at me. The way she used to dance barefoot in her room. The sound of her laugh. The way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t watching.
And I thought about how I had broken her too. Maybe not like Young did. But I’d played my part.
God help me, I would never forgive myself if she didn’t make it.
When the surgeon finally stepped out, covered in blood and sweat, we all stood at once.
He sighed. "She’s stable. For now. The internal bleeding was severe. We did everything we could. But she’s strong."
Jasper collapsed into Sierra’s arms.
And I? I just breathed.
For the first time in hours, I breathed.
But deep inside, I knew nothing would ever be the same again.
Not for her.
Not for me.
Not for any of us.
Chapter 11
