Ezra moved both of us to the couch next to Aiden and Jessa. One of the paramedics came in and asked to speak to a family member. My Mom started to stand and I patted her leg.

"I can handle this, Mom. Stay with Jessa." I got up to move and Ezra followed close behind me as if he was protecting me. I needed him here with me. I needed to borrow his strength just a little bit longer to get through this.
          
The paramedic had me sign some paperwork, provide some information, and explained the next steps. All the words sounded like "blah blah blah", I was glad when Ezra repeated the information back to him. At least one of us understood what he was saying. The paramedic turned and left the room just as quickly as he had entered it. He slammed the door behind him as he left. The house fell silent as if nothing had ever happened.

I leaned back into Ezra without thinking and he ran his hands up and down my arms. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the gentleness of his large hands.

"Thank you." I said, turning my head to look up at him. His blue eyes were stormy and red-rimmed. I hadn't noticed he had been crying too.

"I'm so sorry, Riley." He said, looking down at me. I could feel his steady but strained breathing on my back and I sunk back further into the rhythm of it. He closed his eyes and his body relaxed against mine. He was holding me against him and I didn't even attempt to push away. I needed him right now.

After a few minutes, he pulled away and guided me back to the living room. Ezra kept his hand on my back to keep me stable. My Mom laid her head on Aiden's lap and was still whimpering my Dad's name.

Jessa started stirring in Aiden's arms and Ezra reached for her to give him some relief. He laid her on his chest and he sat down in the chair in the corner. Without thinking, I sat down in front of him between his legs on the floor. I needed to be close to Jessa. He rubbed my shoulder with one hand and I leaned back into him, grateful he was here today.

We all sat in silence for what felt like hours. Not one of us could find the words.

I woke up and someone must have moved me to the couch. I was wrapped up in my Mom's arms and Jessa was playing with her barbies on the floor in front of us. She looked back at me and smiled, waving her favorite princess barbie.

Aiden was on the other chair, passed out from exhaustion. I wondered what Aiden was thinking in all of this. He and Ezra were having to work together to hold the Davis family together until JD flew in from Wisconsin. My life had become so strange; everything I thought I knew went out the window the minute I crashed into Ezra on the street.

I heard footsteps in the kitchen and a hushed, tense voice. Ezra was still here and he was in a heated conversation on the phone. I stood up and crept around the corner to listen in.

"No, Jen, it's not like that. I'm not sleeping with her. She found her Dad dead when we got here. I'm waiting for her brother to fly into town and then I will head home."

He paused for a few seconds.

"She needs help with Jessa right now."

Pause.

"I don't care if she didn't need it before. I am here for my daughter."

Pause.

"Jen, don't give me that load of bullshit. I know what you did when you had my phone. How could you do that to my daughter? I would have never even been here today if you didn't pull that crap."

Pause.

"No, I will not drop it. I almost lost her because of what you did."

Pause.

"Hello, Jen? Hello?"

"Fuck." He screamed, slamming his phone down on the island. He pushed his hands through his hair, trying to control himself. He was frazzled and looked as worn out as I felt.

"Ezra. You ok in there?" I asked, announcing my presence before coming in.

"Just more drama with Jenna." He said, defeated.

"If you need to get home, I understand." I said, leaning against the island next to him.

Ezra looked over, a little surprised that I told him he could go.

"Riley, I'm not leaving here until JD gets into town. I spoke with him on the phone before his flight boarded and told him I would stay here and I meant it."

"Aiden's here. He will help out until JD gets in." I said, tracing my fingers over the woven basket that held various colors of apples.

"Jessa needs me." He said in a soft tone. He made it sound like this was for Jessa, but the tone in his voice sounded like he didn't really want to go either. I nodded and didn't say a word to disagree with him. If I told him to stay, I would have to admit to myself that I wanted him here too.

"You've already been fighting with her and I just don't want to give her the wrong idea about what is going on. I know I have been making things more complicated for you lately." I said apologetically.

"She is going to freak out on me no matter what I do. I already cemented the idea in her head the moment I told her I was going to come over here to... well, you know what I said. Besides, I have no idea how I'm going to explain the bite mark on my chest to her." He said, chuckling.

"The what?" I asked, confused.

"I have a Riley shaped mouth bruise on my chest. If you look close enough, you can even see the teeth marks." He was trying to lighten the mood.

"No." I said, embarrassed.

"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt as bad as the scratches." His eyes lightened a bit with his amusement.

"I am so sorry. I don't even remember doing any of that."

My eyes flickered to the ground as I wrapped my arms around myself. I tried to rub some of the cold numbness I was feeling inside away. My head was a jumbled mess of emotions and I was too tired to even try to straighten it out. Warm tears slid down my cheeks and I wiped at them with my sleeve. My body was shaking from grief and I could not hold myself together anymore. Small sobs began to escape my mouth and I could feel my chest tightening. The air in my lungs began to burn as I tried to breathe in and out slowly.

Ezra walked closer to me and pulled me to him. I leaned hard into his chest and let him surround me. He gently moved his hands up and down my back and placed his chin on the top of my head. My arms moved around his waist and I pulled him in as tight as I could. I needed every inch of him touching me to keep from shattering to pieces.

"You will get through this. You have always been stronger than you know, Ry." Ezra whispered into my hair.

We stood in the kitchen with him holding me until my body started to relax and my breathing began to slow. I closed my eyes and sunk into him; he felt so safe and warm pressed against me.

Ezra lifted his chin off my head and I looked up at him, staring into his troubled eyes. He pulled one corner of his mouth up in an unconvincing smile. I bit my lip as his eyes watched me. This was torture.

I raised my head up as his lowered to mine. Our lips were less than an inch apart. Ezra's eyes bore into mine as he breathed me in. He began to pull back away from me, but I would not let him go this time. I stood on my tiptoes and grabbed the back of his neck to pull his lips to mine.

My body exploded in relief when our lips met. His lips were soft and gentle against me. Ezra slowly began to kiss me back. His lips parted and my fingertips moved to his hair and I pulled him in deeper. Ezra grabbed my hand and placed it back down against my side. He pulled his mouth away to look down at me.

My feelings were hurt and I was confused when he stopped kissing me. I knew this wasn't just me wanting this to happen. I could feel him wanting me too.

"Riley, you're hurting right now. This is a really bad idea." His jaw clenched tightly.

"I need you." I desperately cried out as I begged for him to come back to me.

"This is not what you need. When everything calms back down, you'll be able to think clearly again. We can't keep making the same mistakes. We have Jessa to think about now." When did Ezra become the voice of reason? Everything he just said made perfect sense, but it still felt wrong.

I tried to pull him back into my lips and he gently pushed my hands back down and held them in his. They looked so tiny as his fingers wrapped around mine. He took a step back from me and bent down, looking into my eyes.

"Riley, we can't. I am still engaged to Jenna. Even though we are fighting, we are still together."

Ezra was right.

What was I doing?

He was finally in a good place and seemed happy for the most part. It would be selfish of me if I tried to come between them. When I thought he wanted Brynn instead of me, it almost killed me. Jenna may not have been the best person, but she didn't deserve a cheating fiancé. I was never going to like her, but I needed to respect what Ezra wanted.

The reality of our situation didn't make me want Ezra any less. I would always want him. Even when he hurt me more times than I could count, I still loved him more than anything. That was why it never worked between Aiden and me or anyone else. Ezra left his mark on me and as much as I tried to erase it, it would never go away.

"I'm going to go check on Jessa." I said, turning to walk from the room. I was holding back tears and didn't want him to see how much I was hurting. He had moved on and didn't want me anymore. I was miserable without him and he was better off without me.

"Riley, wait." He called out to me.

But I couldn't go back and face him. It hurt too much to realize I had lost him for good.

Just like my dad.

I wanted to find my Dad to cry on his shoulder and for him to give me some magical advice that would make this all go away. He would tell me to be patient and if it was meant to be, then he would come back to me. My Dad would tell me how special I was and how lucky Ezra would be to have me in his life.

My Dad would never give me advice again. It had only been a few hours since I found him in bed with his skin cold and his breath gone. I missed him and had never needed him more.

But I had to figure it out for myself now. For the first time in my whole entire life, I truly felt like I was on my own.