The way this town has chewed up and spat out these two is despicable. I could set fire to Main Street and not feel the least bit of remorse.
“Scarlett was like the rest of them. She just wanted a story she could tell her friends about the Montgomery brothers, something I wish we would have found out before we decided to date her.” Griffin sneers.
If that bitch were still alive, I’d rip her heart out of her chest with my bare hands. People aren’t prizes. I know that better than anyone. People have feelings, dreams, and goals. They’re not inanimate objects that were made for another’s pleasure and entertainment. When people are treated like they’re nothing, they eventually believe that they’re nothing.
Griffin and Knox aren’t nothing. They’re worth more than all of Mystic River a million times over.
Knox’s head still rests in my lap, but his eyes show me that his mind is somewhere else. The color leeches from Griffin’s face as he stares down at his brother.
I want to take this away from them. I want to carry this load for them. I can take it.
The sound of glass breaking, followed by inebriated laughing, slips into the room. Griffin looks to the door, then back at Knox.
Placing my hand on his arm, I reassure him, “You can go. I got this.”
Griffin hesitates, moving to stand but glances back at me.
“Trust me.”
He nods and takes off, leaving Knox and me behind.
We don’t move from the spot on the floor. We don’t even speak.
As I have difficulty swallowing, I continue to brush his hair with my hands. The stabbing in my chest grows the longer Knox seems empty.
Eventually, a tear falls down my face, landing on Knox’s cheek. He blinks, coming back to this moment with me. I don’t want this to be about me because it’s not. Our pain is different, and one isn’t greater than the other. But I can’t stop the swell of emotion building in my heart.
Knox sits up, his features softening when he finds my face wet. “Don’t cry for me, Darlin’.”
My voice comes out soft. “But you’re worth crying for.”
Knox circles me in his arms and holds on tight, communicating what he can’t express with his words. With his chin on my head, Knox’s voice is soft. “I’m not worth it. I know it.”
Pulling back, I stare up at him, disbelieving. “What are you talking about? What kind of self-talk is that?”
“Look at me, Raven.”
“I am.” I frown at him, offended.
“No, really look, Darlin’, look closely.”
Something must have hit him on the head because Knox is talking nonsense.
My frown deepens and my voice grows louder. “I am.”
Knox’s tone is firm. “No, you’re not. Because if you were, you’d see how unevenly matched we are. I don’t deserve you.”
This better not be about what I think it’s about…
Blinking incredulously, my jaw unhinges. “I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but…What the hell are you talking about?”
Knox’s jaw tightens. “Do I really have to say it?”
“Yes.” My cheeks flame.
“My scars, Raven!”
Nailed that one, and I hate that I’m right.
