Chapter Twenty-Six
Harlow
Max’s question was expected, yet when I looked into his eyes and sensed he could see how emotionally rattled I was, anxiety spun in my chest, tightening around my heart like a vise. I would’ve given anything to tell him what was going on inside, for him to tell me Cliff was a jerk and that I had made it through to the other side. I needed reassurance. I needed to lean on someone.
But I had to lean on myself. Not that I needed anything else to give me a blindingly obvious reminder of how alone I was in the world. Hearing that Cliff was trying to transfer here to one of the hotshot crews was a brutally painful reminder. I could not expect anyone else to be there for me. Whenever I did that, the consequences were disastrous for my emotional sanity.
“I’m fine. It’
