Doesn’t change my future. Can’t live like this, Taylor. I’d be better off dead.”

“Well, I wouldn’t. I couldn’t imagine life without you.” She squeezed him again, pressing as close as she could, needing to send love into him, through him, healing love, and hope. She needed hope, too. She loved her brother more than anything. Her parents might have abandoned him, but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Ever. “We just need the right doctor and the right medicine and we just have to take it one step at a time.”

“I’m so sorry, Taylor. I’m so sorry for everything.”

“It’s not your fault. Your brain is wired differently, but it’s still a beautiful brain, and you are a beautiful man and we’re going to get this sorted out. I promise.”

He lifted his head and looked at her. “You think?”

She inhaled as she saw his black eye and swollen nose. “What happened?”

His head dropped again. “Nothing.”

Something had happened. His face was black and blue. “Who did it?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Of course, it does.”

“I tried to avoid the fight. I did.”

“How did it happen, and with who?”

“Doesn’t matter. I left Hogue. I broke my contract. I’ll be going to jail.”

“Maybe. And maybe not,” Taylor said, remembering what McKenna had said about hiring a good attorney. Maybe it was time to ask for favors from her friends here. McKenna knew the right people. Maybe it was time to reach out and ask for help. Brock Sheenan might be a good person to approach. The worst thing he could do was say no. “We’ll go to Kara’s,” she added. “Make some calls, come up with a plan.