She should have been here. She belonged here.
Chase leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, dragging a hand through his already disheveled hair.
He had told her he loved her. Had bared his fucking soul to her. Had given her everything.
And still—she left.
His jaw locked, his throat burned, his entire body coiled tight.
He had never felt like this before. Not when loved ones passed. Not when he had lost friends.
Because this wasn’t just heartbreak.
This was fucking devastation.
And the worst part?
She was the only one who could fix it.
Still no word.
Still nothing.
Day Four
The knock on his door came mid-afternoon.
Chase barely moved.
He had been in the same spot for hours, staring blankly at the floor, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on him like a lead blanket.
He didn’t want company.
Didn’t want to talk. Didn’t want to fucking exist in this moment without her.
So when he heard the knock, he almost didn’t answer.
Until he heard her voice.
Sara.
“Chase, open the damn door.”
He exhaled sharply, scrubbing a hand over his face before pulling it open.
And there they were.
Jaxon and Sara.
His best friend and the woman who had wrecked him before she had become his world.
Chase’s stomach twisted. He didn’t need to ask why they were here.
Mallory.—That meddling little shit must have called Sara.
Jaxon didn’t speak right away. He just stood there, his gaze heavy, knowing. Because Jaxon had been here before.
He had lived through this. He had lost Sara once. And he knew exactly what Chase was going through.
