I’d rather tear my own fucking heart out of my chest than know that she needs me and I can’t find her. She won’t text me back or answer her phone. Grace is asleep so Grady, Tamsen, and I split up to look for Darby.

“Hey!” I call seeing a familiar face.

The nurse that worked with Darby turns.

“Have you seen Darby?”

“No. Isn’t she with Grace?”

I shake my head and jog to the elevator.

“Maybe she’s in the cafeteria!”

I don’t acknowledge her, but I’m heading there. I rip through the crowd of people on the elevator when the doors open on the lower level. Looking right then left I don’t see her, but I spot both Grady and Tamsen.

“No luck?”

They both shake their heads. I fist my hair and growl in anger. “Dammit! Why won’t she answer her phone?”

“Are you looking for someone?” An older woman with an ID badge asks.

“Yes,” Tamsen answers then describes what Darby looks like.

“She ran to the bathroom about an hour ago. Another lady went in to check on her. All she said was ‘Trick.’”

“Trick, you can’t just barge into the women’s bathroom!” Tamsen calls, chasing after me.

Like hell I can’t!

“Darby!” I slam the door open so hard it makes a crashing sound against the back wall.

All the stalls are unoccupied except one.

“Darby!” I bang on it and look underneath. “Open the door.”

She releases a strangled sob, and I don’t wait another second before yanking the door open sending the metal latch clattering to the ground.

“Shh … I’m here.” I pick her up, cradling her in my arms as her face buries into my chest with gut-wrenching cries. Tamsen grabs her purse and Grady holds the door open for us.

“H-he’s d-d-dead …”

I press my lips to her head while carrying her to the elevator. “I know, baby … I know,” I whisper.

Grady drives us home, and I carry her to bed and just hold her. It doesn’t matter what I thought of her father. In spite of everything, I know she loved him. That’s just her, always giving more than he deserved and settling for so much less than she needed from the ungrateful bastard.

I’m not sure what time it is when her body finally quiets and stills. Tamsen slips off Darby’s shoes and mine then spreads a blanket over us. “I’ll be on the couch if you need anything,” she whispers.

I nod and mouth “thank you.”

There will never be enough time left in my life to repay Tamsen and Grady. They are without exception always here for me when I need them, but what’s most amazing is they have a way of knowing I need them even before I do.

My life’s circumstances have never been ideal, but this I know. I’ve been loved more than most people are in a dozen lifetimes. My parents had nothing and yet I felt like I had everything … everything that mattered. Grady and I might not always agree on things, but he picked me up, dusted me off, and gave me purpose again. Tamsen … well Tamsen is an angel if there’s such a thing. She healed me from the inside out and sinceriously gave me back my sense of self-worth. Then there’s the woman in my arms. She’s my future … my whole world … my lover … my wife … my BFF.