a source of comfort and love, was now a weapon he was using against me. Each not

whispered, grabbing my arm.

applause for Ethan and Vivian echoed behind us. The cool night air hit my

king over. She was in her bedroom, talking to her followers. "Thank you all for the love tonight! Singing with Dr. Hunt was a dream come true. He' s been such a pillar of st

r midnight. He was humming the song. He saw me

asked, his voice casual,

leep," I said,

aking off his jacket. "Vivian was

t he had taken our song, our tradition, and given it to he

re like two strangers sharing a space. The silence between us was heavy with unspoken wo

rtment. He was with Vivian. He was holding her arm, his voice low and comforting.

et go of her, a flicker of panic in his eyes

-wrecker!" She was pointing at Vivian. "You killed my brother! You were live-strea

traught woman. In the scuffle, the woman' s purse swung wildly and hit me in the side of the head. The impact was sharp and jarring. I stumbled back, m

ed, his voice soundin

, terrifying silence. Ethan was still busy protecting Vivian, pushing the angry woman away. He didn'

of my mother' s tirades. Ethan had found me. He had knelt beside me, just like this, and gently tucked

helped create, I felt the last bit of that sixteen-year-old girl' s