“It’s true, Em. We kept the baby and got married right out of high school.”

“This is...this is shit,” she says.

A quick laugh escapes me. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”

“Why did you do that to me? Get me pregnant so young? It’s very bad.”

Her accusation stabs deep into my heart, penetrating that special place just for her and Kenzi that no one could ever touch or tear apart. “I didn’t force you, Em. Not ever. We were in love, and we just weren’t careful enough. I was only fifteen too.”

“We shouldn’t have been doing that.”

“Well, yeah, thinking back now, I agree we were too young and had no idea what we were doing. But that’s how kids are—they do what they want. We were happy and in love, and we were each other’s firsts, and we got carried away one night. It was the first time we had sex, and we didn’t do it again for a long time after. Like over a year.”

“This is lies. I wouldn’t have a baby. Or leave my parents. I—I can’t feel that at all.” She pulls the blanket up to her shoulders like she’s trying to shield herself from me and her past. “It’s all bad wrong.”

“It’s hard to understand, but it’s true. You wanted the baby. We both did.”

And me. You wanted me.

“I lived with strangers?”

“No. You were very close to my parents and my grandmother. They took care of you. You adored them and considered them your family. You always have. My mother was in the delivery room with us. You asked her to be there with you.”

She bursts into tears and buries her face in her hands. “I don’t believe this,” she sobs into her palms. “Everything gets worst.”

My heart clenches. How can I make her understand that despite having a baby so young, we never regretted it?

“You were happy, Ember. And so loved by me and my family. Your parents aren’t nice. They left you here. They never tried to help or find answers. I did.”

“You get out from here.” She shoves my shoulder with her small hand, and while she’s too weak to move me, I’m pushed over the edge. Destroyed.

“I want my nurse.”

Shaking, I stand. “I’ll get the nurse. I’ll leave if that’s really what you want.”

“Yes. You leave.” She glares at me. “You did bad things to me.”

My heart plunges. “Ember, it wasn’t like that at all. We had something so special. We were inseparable. We loved our baby. All we wanted was to have a life together.”

She pokes at the nurse call button on the remote as she continues to cry. “Please leave,” she begs.

“Okay.” I put my hands up in surrender. “I’ll go home.” I step backward toward the door. “I love you.” For the first time in our lives, I leave without kissing her goodbye, and it feels as if my soul is being torn out of my body and fed into a shredder.

I don’t allow myself to fall apart until I’m in my car.

She pushed me away.

She asked me to leave.

I left, but I don’t leave.

I sit in my car until the moon shines in the sky, reliving all our memories in my mind. Remembering for both of us. I never thought I’d have to convince Ember that Kenzi was a blessing. Or that being teen parents wasn’t horrible. Or that she lost one family but gained a new one that loved her unconditionally.

So many people doubted us and worried about us, but never Ember.

“We’re lucky, Ash. We got a jumpstart on a love that most people don’t have until they’re twice our age. Or ever. We get a lifetime of happily ever after.”

I pull an old notebook out of my glove box and pour my heart out into new lyrics—scribbling madly about the minefield of unrequited love and relentless hope. It’s been a long time since I let my soul seep into music, but it looks like that’s going to change. Our next album might end up being a lyrical walk down the disheveled path of my life.

The fans will eat that up like candy. They’ve been waiting for more of my blood and tears since the album we put out right after Ember’s accident. After that, I made it a rule to keep myself out of the music.

Welcome back, Ash.

Around midnight, I sneak back into Ember’s room and gently kiss her forehead as she sleeps.

“I’ll never leave you, baby,” I whisper. “I know you’re still in there.”

Someday, hopefully, she’ll thank me for being so insanely stubborn.

Chapter Twelve

“Oh my God. Look at you!” A beautiful, tall woman with long, blonde hair rushes into my room, her high heels tapping on the tile floor, silver earrings swinging against her cheeks. Before I have a chance to pull away, she’s got me in a hug. “I can’t believe it,” she whispers. “I’ve missed you so much.”