Zane: He’s still there, right?
The response was immediate.
Ethan: He’s in there for life, Zane. He’s not going anywhere.
The same response Zane always got. And yeah, Montyhadbeen put away for life. Heshouldspend the rest of his days rotting in Montana State Prison.
So why did Zane feel so fucking uneasy?
CHAPTER 3
The thumps of Bonnie’s heart were loud and hard in her chest as she walked to The Tea House. And there was a tremble in her fingers that had been there since she’d woken that morning.
This was it. She was finally going to see Noah and Indie after thirteen years of nothing. What would she even say?Sorry for deserting you right after our parents died, when we needed each other most? Sorry for not answering your calls? Sorry for completely cutting you off because I hated myself for a while?
She swallowed the hard lump in her throat and quickened her pace.
There were no words she could give that would make it better. The truth was, she’d been eighteen and hurting.
So she’d left. Run. Tried to escape it all. Because at eighteen, she hadn’t known what else to do.
But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst was remaining gone for so long. At eighteen years old, she could be forgiven for making bad choices. But years had passed, and she’d remained in San Francisco. She hadn’t reached out. She hadn’t apologized. Because every year that passed had made the mountain that she’d put between herself and her family feel that much higher.It had taken Noah reaching out toher, and showing her a kindness she hadn’t felt she deserved, for Bonnie to finally reconnect.
But she was here now. And she was ready to start making amends.
Well, at least she thought she was. Until The Tea House came into view. Then her heart raced again.
No. She could do this.
She stopped at the door and took one deep breath.
It will be fine. Everything will be okay.The words whispered in her head before she pushed inside.
He was the first person she saw. The only person.
Noah. He was so much older. No longer the twenty-one-year-old brother she remembered. There were lines beside his eyes. And God, his shoulders were wide. But that smile…it was so achingly familiar.
He rose from the booth. She didn’t even feel like she had control of her feet, they just started moving.
“Hey, Bon-Bon.”
Tears suddenly welled in her eyes, and she threw her arms around his shoulders. His strong arms wrapped around her, holding her as she cried into his chest.
“How is it possible that you feel the same?” she whispered. Not just felt the same. Smelled the same. Sounded the same.
His arms tightened. “I know what you mean.”
She breathed him in. It felt like a part of her had suddenly been returned. Like she hadn’t even realized that piece was missing, but now that she had it back, she felt a bit more whole.
When they finally separated, Bonnie swiped tears from her cheeks. “You look good.”
One side of his mouth lifted, showing a familiar dimple. “Right back at you.”
“Is Indie here?”
There was the smallest hesitation from Noah.
And suddenly she knew. “She’s not coming.”
