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His brother easily avoided his wild punch before connecting a jab to Sawyer’s jayer’s head snapped back and pain vibrated through his already aching head Not that it mattered His brother—the one he’d always trusted to have his back—had pushed Clover away Red leaked into Sawyer’s vision and he struck out with everything he had Unfortunately, after almost two days of only alcohol and sriracha-flavored chips, that wasn’t much Hudson bobbed and weaved, then shoved Sawyer hard until he landed back in the chair he’d jumped out of
“Oh, stop it” Helene glared at both of them “Sawyer, you’d alreadyet ood teammate Everyone wants to be—and deserves to be—noticed and loved for the little things that make them who they are, the details that make them special If you love her, those are the reasons why you do and you have to tell her every one”
What bullshit
All the frustration that had been boiling inside him spilled over “I do notice all of those details about Clover,” he yelled, loud enough that the words reverberated in his head “The way she chews her lip when she’s nervous The way the sunlight catches her hair and brings out the red you don’t see otherwise The way her brain otiations The way she owns a room the moment she walks into it”
His mother lifted an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t react to his outburst “Then I suggest you find a way to tell her that”
All the fight leaked out of him as the realization hit of just howso et the bottle of whiskey from the bar cart and fall back into it
Helene opened up her purse, reached inside, and pulled out the e “A hotel employee found this in the supply closet and the hotel notified nized it as your grand” She held it out to hi it”
He kept his hands fisted on his thighs and his gaze averted He’d fucked up Clover was gone A ring wasn’t going to bring her back “I won’t”
She harru onto the red bar cart “So you say”
Obviously deciding that she’d driven the sword in deep enough, Helene motioned to Hudson and they both walked to the elevator and disappeared inside, leaving him alone to stew in his own li in from the balcony landed on the bar cart He should throw both iteht loosened He’d never had a better idea Get rid of the else that she’d ever touched Then, he could create a new big-picture plan on the clean slate that would be left
Energized for the first time since he’d left the Bayview Hotel, Sawyer leaped out of his chair and strode over to the closet where he had hidden all of the stupid hiking boots she’d ordered He piled therab it by the handles ready to toss the whole lot overboard and— He couldn’t do it Maybe later, after a shower That would clear his head, and afterward he’d get rid of anything that even re-picture plan
…
Achy but cried out, Clover cuddled deeper under her covers and pressed “Next Episode” on her tablet So what if she was now three episodes deep in a superhero show about a woman who drank too ive a shit about anyone except her best friend Perfect for someone as in a fuck-the-world kind ofto do She was unemployed Australia was officially a pipe dream And she had a hole in her chest where her heart used to be Plus she couldn’t get Hudson’s words out of her head about how she’d been looking for her purpose What was the point of it all? What good was having all of the adventures in the world and helping people if she didn’t have anyone to share those experiences with?
Take, for example, her mom For most of Clover’s life, if she’d had to nail down a purpose and a point, it would be to make sure she didn’t turn out shackled to a white picket fence like her mom But after what happened with her dad, she’d seen her parents’ life in a new light They were happy together It wasn’t perfect It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows But it was real, it was good, and—she suddenly realized—it was an experience, an adventure, she wanted to have, too
The credits on her show had just started to run when her tablet screen froze and her ht alone, and Clover clicked accept “Hi, Mom”