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“Yes”
She held his stare for a beat “No one deserves death”
“But death happens regardless,” he countered “It’s co for all of us” Rhys knew that lesson He’d seen death rip apart Katherine until all the good in her was gone, replaced by anger that her life was cut short So many dreams unmet So many needs and wants unfulfilled He brushed Zoey’s hair away fro it behind her ear “You can let this consume you, or you can realize that none of this is in your control Not what Scott and Jake did to you Not their responses to it” He had never crossed the line he was about to cross, but he crossed it easily now “I’d like to show you so Will you come somewhere with me?”
Her eyes searched his He swore she nearly said, “I’ll go anywhere with you” Instead, she said, “Okay, yeah”
They wasted no ti drive back into Manhattan, through ht the moment when Zoey went statue-still He drove up the hill and around the slight corner before he pulled over beside Katherine’s grave then got out Zoey followed hiravestone
He hoped what he said next would have an impact Helped even a little “I loved Katherine Loved herI wanted in a wo, fun, and had such a zest for life” His throat tightened, but he breathed deeply again, pushing back the enosis” Zoey’s war around his forearm, as he continued, “I never would have believed what happened after that The way Katherine changed”
“Changed, how?” Zoey asked gently
Rhys kept his focus on the toht
purple tone, Katherine’s favorite color “You always see inspirational stories about cancer The way a person fights so bravely for their life Katherine tried to fight for a while, but the cancer was aggressive Cheot so sick”
“I’m so sorry, Rhys,” Zoey said, tears in her voice
He couldn’t look her way, couldn’t get through this if he did “The plan had been to do surgery once the tu the tuhtened His breathing becae that had crossed Katherine’s face “The day the doctor told Katherine there was nothing they could do for her, she changed The light in her went out”
“She gave up?”
Rhys gave Zoey a quick look, finding warer stole the Katherine I knew and loved She couldn’t see the good in anything She lived for another two months, and she became a shell of the woman she was She wouldn’t come outside She wouldn’t talk to any of her friends She sat in a dark room and stayed there”
Zoey squeezed his fingers “That must have been hard to watch”
Rhys nodded, exhaled deeply, and looked at the tombstone “I couldn’t reach her I couldn’t help her I could do nothing to save her But worst of all, I couldn’t find my way back to her When she died, she screamed in a way that will forever haunt lanced sideways at Zoey “I knohat you’ve gone through is horrible Inconceivable But don’t do what Katherine did Don’t let so consuone Promise me that”