When my meltdown didn’t wake her up, it was hard to hold on to the belief that anything else in this world ever could or would. That left me without my wife, facing the possibility of losing my daughter and my lifelong best friend forever if I couldn’t see past their ages, the disbelief, and betrayal.

Living without two more of the people I love most in this world wasn’t something I could handle. There’s only so much loss and heartache a person can take. I’d reached my limit.

After some major soul searching and talking for hours to my gram, I realized Tor and Kenzi had reached their limit too. Like me, they also lost Ember. They were just as lonely as I was, and they found comfort, love, and a crazy connection in each other that even I couldn’t deny was clear as day, right in front of me.

I could damn them, forbid them, and lose them both.

Or I could accept that they fell in love and there wasn’t anything devious or wrong about it.

It just happened.

A year ago, I would’ve turned away when Tor pulled Kenzi into his arms and kissed her. I would’ve heavily debated punching his face and sending her to her room—no matter how old she was. Now, I’m grateful to see how happy they are together. How they take care of each other. It’s the kind of love Ember and I shared.

“Mind if I sit?”

I glance up at Sydni, who doesn’t wait for my answer as she pours herself into the lawn chair next to mine. She crosses her long legs and bobs her bare foot up and down. Her toenails are painted the same apple red as her hair, but the nail polish does nothing to hide how filthy the sole of her foot is.

I don’t like feet. Especially dirty feet.

“You already are sitting.” I hope she doesn’t put her gross feet in my pool later.

“Do you need a drink? Something to eat?” she asks.

“I’m good, but thanks.”

“You look deep in thought.”

I nod and fish a small pack of CBD gummy bears out of my shirt pocket. I pick out a blue one and pop it into my mouth. My doctor suggested they might help calm my nerves. I’m still on the fence.

“Always,” I say.

“This weekend is when they start the new treatment on Ember?”

Something tells me my little bear isn’t going to help me with this conversation.

I nod. “Yup.”

“And then what?” she prods. “Does something happen right away? Or in a few days? Weeks?”

“It varies from patient to patient. All we can do is wait and hope. They’ll monitor her vitals, watch for changes. Or body movements.”

“So, she’ll just like wake up?”

I gnaw ferociously on my gummy bear. “It won’t be instantaneous, Syd. Not like in the movies. It’s a slow process.”

“I really hope this works. It would be amazing to have her back. I think I’d lose my mind if I could actually talk to her again. It’ll be wild. Wait ’til she finds out about Kenzi and Tor! Can you imag—”

“Sydni, don’t.” I shake my head. “That subject is off-limits. With me and with Ember.”

She shifts in her chair and glares over at Kenzi and Tor sitting by the pool. “Okay, fine... I keep forgetting I’m not allowed to talk about them.” Bitterness spikes through her words.

I have a real love-hate relationship with Sydni, but she’s all tangled up in my life, so as much as she annoys me sometimes, I can’t just cut ties with her. She’s been best friends with Ember since high school, and she and Toren dated on and off for almost twelve years, thus making her one of my friends too. As if that isn’t enough, she’s one of Ember’s bandmates, and she’s played in my band a few times.

Sydni’s just not an easy pill to swallow. She has no filter. She goes after whatever she wants, not caring who or what she bulldozes in her path. Usually that was Toren, until he shut her down for good. Let’s say Sydni wasn’t at all happy to find out she’d lost one of her favorite playthings to an eighteen-year-old girl.

Every now and then, her nice, normal side makes an appearance, but it never lasts long.

“What if nothing happens after this treatment?” She pulls her long hair back and secures it with a black hair band.

“What do you mean?”

“If there’s no change in Ember after this medication, then what happens?”

“Nothing. She’ll just stay as she’s been. It can’t hurt her.”

“Well, that’s good. As long as she’ll still basically be okay,” she says, and a few moments later, she goes for my throat. “And what happens to you?”

My jaw clenches. My little stress bear is long gone and has left me high and dry. “Nothing happens to me. Why would it?”