Page 147 - It Ends with Us

Worr y? Pani c?

He slowly pulls up hi s right hand and it’s covered in blood. Blood
is trickling out of hi s palm, down hi s wrist. I look at the floor—a t the
sha ttered piec es of glass from the cassero le dish. His han d. I just
pushed hi m ont o glass.
He turns around and pulls himsel f up. He sticks hi s ha nd und er
the strea m of water and starts rins ing away the blood. I stand up, just

as he pulls a sliver of glass out of hi s palm and tosses it on the count er.
I’m full of so much ang er, but someho w, conc ern for hi s ha nd still
find s its way out. I grab a towel and sho ve it int o hi s fis t. There’ s so
much blood.
It’s hi s right ha nd .
His surger y Monday.
I try to hel p stop the bleed ing , but I’m sha king too bad. “R yle, your

ha nd .”
He pulls the hand away and , with hi s good ha nd , he lifts my chi n.
“Fuck the ha nd , Lily. I don’t care about my ha nd . Are you okay?” He’s
looking back and forth bet ween my ey es frant ically as he asses ses the
cut on my face.
My sho ulders beg in to sha ke and hu ge, hu rt-fil led tea rs spill down

my cheek s. “No.” I’m a little in sho ck, and I kno w he can hea r my
hea rt brea king with just tha t one word, bec ause I can feel it in ev er y
part of me. “Oh my God. You pushe d me, R yle. You . . .” The
rea lization of wha t ha s just ha ppened hu rts worse tha n the actual
action.
R yle wraps hi s arm around my nec k and des pera tel y ho lds me
agains t hi m. “I’m so sorr y, Lily. God, I’m so sorr y.” He buries hi s face

agains t my ha ir, squeez ing me with ev er y em otion ins ide of hi m.
“Plea se don’t ha te me. Pleas e.”
His voice slowly starts to bec ome R yle’s voice again, and I feel it in
my stomach, in my toes . His ent ire career dep end s on hi s ha nd , so it
ha s to say somet hi ng tha t he’s no t ev en worri ed about it. Right ? I’m so
conf used .

There’ s too much ha ppeni ng . The smoke, the wine, the broken
glass, the food splattered ev er ywhere, the blood, the ang er, the
apologies , it’s too much.