Chapter Four
~Justin’s POV~
Iwas raw.Completelygutted.Not even the cold wind could distract me as I stood outside, pacing in front of Cadence’s garage.Walking down memory lane, seeing all that happiness, and knowing how that story ended, I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
The only memories I had at this point were the bad ones, but every time I saw a picture frame with Ariel grinning, or my mom making a silly face, it proved that at one point, things had been perfect.And I lost all that.
It left me confused.And sad.But also happy.To see my mom and sister again.To even see that version of my dad, when he was actually a decent guy capable of smiling and being silly.There had been one photo in particular that had left me feeling lost.It was of Mom and Dad, and it was clear how stupid in love that man had been.It was practically picture perfect.Confusing.
He was the one who had turned to violence.Who decided to take it out on my mom.Who had ultimately killed her.So how did we get from that pure love and happiness to the man he was when he died?
None of it made sense to me.And George already told me I may never really get an answer.The human mind was weird.People were weird, everyone thinking differently.
“Hey man,” Seth said, he and Paxon coming over.The icy ground crunched under his footsteps.I stared at his feet, making a mental note to salt Cadence’s driveway again.The last thing I wanted was her to fall, especially with her back still healing.
“Hey,” I mumbled, still finding it hard to talk around the clog in my throat.
Paxon patted my back.“How’s the fresh air?Helping?”
I shook my head.Nothing was really helping right now.
“Is this too much?”Seth asked.“We can end it.Up to you.”
I swallowed.“No.”I shook my head and blinked furiously.“No.I love this.That you all did this.And I know Cadence put a lot of work into it.I can’t end it early.”
“You know Cadence, she’d probably be more than happy to have everyone leave.”Seth tried to joke and laugh it off.“I’m pretty sure Bryan is already hiding from the crowd, and I think Cal snuck up to Cadence’s studio.They’re adults.They won’t be butthurt if we kick them out.”
“No.I really do love and appreciate what everyone has done.”I glanced at Cadence’s house.There was movement behind one of the curtains.There had been far more people here than I’d anticipated.Even I didn’t know everyone who showed up, just that my parents had known them in some capacity.Some of them even introduced themselves to me as coworkers or classmates or friends.
Seeing so many people here for my family had been mind-blowing.I felt like I’d been alone for so long, but that wasn’t quite true.I had people by my side.I needed to remember that now more than ever.
I wasn’t alone.
If I dared to forget that, I knew Cadence would hunt me down and kick my ass for forgetting.I couldn’t do that to her again.I knew I had broken something in her when I had gone silent and stayed away from everyone.
I didn’t want to do that again.Especially knowing how far she’d go to help me.Holding this at her house said a lot.She was a private person, yet she’d opened her home to a bunch of people she didn’t know—for me.
No way was I going to ruin all her precious hard work.
“Okay, let’s go back in before I lose fingers.”
“Sure,” Seth said, not caring one way or another.If I said I wanted to stay out there longer, he would have stayed with me without a single complaint.Paxon too.
That was the kind of friends they were.All of them really.
