Rebound Therapy (Rebound #1) by Jerica MacMillan Read Free Book Online Page B

Tom?” I nod against his chest. “Did his parents always think that badly of you?”
    I pull back, putting some space between us. I can’t talk about Tom or our engagement while touching Brian. It’s just too wrong. “Not really. They didn’t approve of us having sex before we were married, but since we were engaged and adults, they couldn’t really do anything about it. They never said anything to me, though I know Tom had to deal with them in the beginning, especially before he proposed. Apparently since he died and I didn’t, I’m the whore of Babylon who brought him to his death.”
    “I’m so sorry,” he says, reaching for me again. “That’s awful. I knew he’d died, you told me the first night we met. But I had no idea it was that awful, or that his parents blamed you.” Brian pulls me in close, and I turn my head at the last minute so he kisses my cheek instead of my mouth. He pulls back, a puzzled frown on his face. “Why didn’t you answer my calls last night?”
    “I turned off my phone. I needed some time to think.”
    “About what?”
    “You, me, Tom, everything.”
    “You, me, Tom, everything,” he repeats, the puzzled look increasing. “What’s there to think about? And did you come to any conclusions?”
    I nod, not looking at him. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
    Brian jerks back, looking like I just slapped him. Hurt has replaced all the other expressions that have been warring on his face since I saw him in the peephole. “What? How did you come to that conclusion?” I’m not sure how to put it. I hate seeing the look of hurt on his face.
    “You blame yourself, too,” he says, realization dawning. I look away again. “You just told me the police ruled the other driver was responsible. You said yourself you weren’t drunk. How can you blame yourself?”
    I sigh, wrapping my arms tightly around myself. “They’re not wrong, really.”
    “Who? Tom’s parents?”
    I nod. “Yeah. He never would’ve gone to that party if not for me.”
    “So, you’re just some dumb slut that dragged their son down and got him killed. That’s really what you think?”
    I flinch, as much from the anger in his voice as the words themselves. “I’m not a slut,” I say through clenched teeth.
    “I know, Jenna.” Brian’s tone is softer now. “I never thought that.”
    “I’m not a slut,” I repeat more calmly, “but he never would have been there if not for me. He’d still be alive if I hadn’t made him go.”
    “Jenna, look at me.” He reaches out and turns my face up to meet his when I don’t look at him. “Jenna, you are not the reason Tom is dead.” I try to avoid his eyes, but he moves his head until his gaze meets mine. “You are not responsible for Tom’s death. The other driver is.”
    Brian is staring into my face, as though trying to make me let go of my guilt through the force of his will. His face still shows his hurt, but the confusion is gone, replaced by sincerity, and … love? No, I can’t let myself think that. I know he cares about me, but I can’t think he loves me.
    “You don’t understand,” I say at last. He drops his hand from my face.
    “I don’t understand,” he says in a flat voice. I look away and nod. “You’re right, I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you’d blame yourself for something that is clearly not your fault. And I don’t understand why that means we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”
    “Tom’s dead, Brian. Tom’s dead, and he wouldn’t be if I hadn’t made him go with me. He was drinking more than he should have because he was annoyed with me. He—" I stop, choking off a sob. “We were happy, we were weeks away from getting married, and now he’s dead. He’s dead because I dragged him to a party. Even if I wasn’t the reason we got in a wreck, even if he’d been driving, it would still be my fault. How can I just move on like it was nothing, like he was nothing?”
    “So,