“Do what?”
“The whole forever thing . . . for real.”
“Okay.”
Just as I’m about to say more, the phone rings on the nightstand.
Reality crashes back into the room.
She grips my arm. “Don’t answer it.”
I already know who it is, so there’s no other choice. “I have to,” I tell her and myself.
Standing from the bed, I head out the door and step into the hall. “Talk,” I answer.
“We’ve got movement,” Rafe says.
My spine goes cold. “Where?”
“Boston.”
Bingo. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Let’s head out.”
“Now?”
I look back toward the door and see where Victoria is. There isn’t even a decision made. “No. I have something I need to take care of first.”
“Something? Or someone?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“I’m happy for you, man.”
“Thanks . . . I’m happy for myself.” With that, I hang up and go back to my wife.
57
Lorenzo
After a lazy morning in bed,I know there is one place I need to take Victoria.
I don’t tell her where we are going, but in all fairness, it’s obvious.
Normally, when I step foot on her parents’ property, I’m brimming with anger, but today, I’m not.
Hand in hand we walk together in silence, but the silence isn’t an uncomfortable kind. It doesn’t beg to be filled.
She doesn’t ask where we’re going as I lead her down the path. She just follows me with no questions, a soft look on her face.
The boathouse comes into view, and I tighten my grip on her fingers.
“This is where it ends,” I say quietly.
She looks at me then, searching my face. “Ends?”
I nod. “The versions of us that didn’t survive. The children who didn’t know how to fight for each other yet.”
We step inside together.
