Chapter 16

“You want anything to drink?” I asked, unsure of what else to say.

Judah shook his head. Aiming for the sitting area, he flopped down on the end of the sofa and leaned back to stare up at the ceiling. “I’m just…I’m still trying to process it. The fact that he’s gone. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

I sat on the corner of the coffee table, close enough to be comforting, far enough to give him distance he might need. “How did you picture it?”

“Anything but that. He should’ve been at home, for starters.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I should’ve been there.”

“Why?”

That snapped his attention. He frowned at me like he was seeing me for the first time. “What do you mean, why? Because then he wouldn’t have been alone.”

“Neither would you.” I fought to keep my tone gentle. His grief kept sparking against my memories, stone to flint, threatening to ignite actions that were entirely too selfish for the moment. “Isn’t that why you called me?”