After that pain came more intense feelings, both mental and physical. The memory of my mother’s screams still woke me up in the dead of night sometimes. The realization had struck fast. I would die soon if I couldn’t get away from Chuck Wheelright.
So, I’d left. Alone.
I hadn’t seen Eddie since he’d escaped five years ago.
But here he was in front of me. He hesitated as he went to rise, zeroing in on my scars. It wasn’t like he had a choice, since they were on my face.
Yeah, take a good look, dickhead. This is your fault, too. Why did you leave without me? Did being two years older than me make you so grown up you couldn’t stand the idea of dragging me along?
I pressed my lips together and stepped away, a spike of coldness sweeping through me and chilling my veins. I raised my chin. “What do you want?”
He crawled out of the bush without my help and stood, knees wobbly. His throat bobbed while he looked me up and down slowly, as if trying to figure out if I really was Tyler. He hadn’t bothered to check the rearview mirror when he’d abandoned me in that hellhole.
“How?” He petered off, like he thought better of what he was going to ask, but I didn’t let him change the topic.
“Oh, this?” I gestured at my face, smiling wryly. Rage began to boil in my stomach. “This is your father’s handiwork. A hot pan doesn’t do nice things to your face.”
He tensed so tight I thought I’d hear the crack of his spine. His chest heaved and he grimaced.
I sighed. My past was where I’d left it—behind me—and I didn’t want to dredge that trauma up again, especially not for an ex-stepbrother and ex-friend I hadn’t seen in years.
“All right, nice seeing you again. Buh-bye.” I turned to walk away, but he seized my wrist and tugged me back. I spun toward him, ready to snap, but the sight of the grief in his royal blue eyes made me pause.
“I didn’t know.” He stepped closer, and I breathed him in. Fresh rain after a drought. How did he smell so good? Sniffing Eddie was an experience, one I’d never noticed in the past and didn’t want to get caught up in.
I’d trusted him once.
Believed him when he’d said we were friends.
This was getting way too deep, too fast. I yanked my wrist out of his hand and shifted backward, creating distance between us. “Why are you in New Gothenburg? Last I heard from your dad, you left New York. Went to California.”
Chuck had dropped that nugget as a taunt, drilling the idea into my head that Eddie wasn’t coming back to save me. I was stuck. Instead of the information imprisoning me, it had made me realize I needed to rely on myself. Escapeby myself.
“I went to college in Cali. I moved home about a year ago. I’ve been on the lookout for you.” His blue eyes went wide. Despite being older than me, Eddie had always seemed more innocent. Naive. Maybe because he was the definition of a klutz. He could barely walk a straight line on a good day and that hadn’t changed.
“Hey, you!” The woman with the stroller jabbed her finger in our direction, eyes narrowed on Eddie. “Are you going to pay for my apples?”
Eddie stuttered out an apology, and I shook my head.
“This was great and all, but I have to be somewhere.”
He reached for me again, but I avoided his hand. Living rough had taught me some skills. Evasion was one of my specialties.
“Tyler, I’m sorry. I need you to know that. Can we catch up? We definitely can.”
Apologies. Words didn’t do jack shit. If he really needed to express regret, then he’d do it with actions. People lied and all they did was betray me.
I clenched my jaw. “Are you? Tell me, then, why did you leave without me? I waited. Expected you to come back.”
His expression shuttered, eyes flashing regret and something else. Was there information he wasn’t telling me? It didn’t matter. I’d suffered under his father’s hand while he’d run away to keep himself safe. I would never forgive him for not taking me with him.
“There’s a reason?—”
“What is it?” I snapped, striding forward.
He winced and nearly fell into the rose bush again, but he managed to catch himself with a light pole. “I can’t.... It isn’t?—”
I sighed loudly. “I don’t care anymore. I learned my lesson. I can’t trust you. Or anyone. I’ve been hurt too many times.”
