“Liv! GO!” He yells, spurring me out the door.
His mom slams it shut behind me, leaving me slumped against the porch railing to listen to the fight ensue.
“You’re a worthless, no good, son of a bitch,” his dad yells. The next thing I hear is a loud crash as dishes shatter.
I start running, and I don’t stop until I’m safely home and behind my bedroom door, letting the anguish rip through me.
Chapter Ten
Hayes
13 years ago…
Tap… Tap… Tap…The curtain draws back achingly slow. “Hi, dove.”
She opens the window just as slow, avoiding any noise that’ll alert her mother to my presence outside her bedroom. “Are you okay?” She asks with the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen, but it’s the shakiness of her voice that guts me.
“I’m fine. My dad is always like that when he drinks. I’m used to it. I wanted to apologize.”
“Apologize?” She whisper-screams, and I shush her, but she doesn’t relent. “You shouldn’t have to live like that!”
“Your mom is going to hear you.”
“I don’t care! She’s probably already blazed out of her mind,” her voice cracks on her last word. “I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“Look, I’m fine.” I hold my hands out, grabbing hers on the window frame and squeezing her delicate fingers. “I’m out of here soon, don’t worry.”
She blinks at me, and her entire face breaks as tears stream down her cheeks.
“Hey, stop, don’t cry,” I beg as she covers her face with her hands and flops back on her bed.
“I can’t stop thinking about how mean he was to you,” she cries into her comforter, and I can’t handle the way it makes my heart ache.
Gripping the top edge of the trailer, I pull up until my feet clear her window, easily lofting my body through the opening.
I drag her into my arms like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and hold her until the heaving sobs turn to soft whimpers.
I’ve never touched her like this. We’ve barely done anything more than side-hug, but that was always out of friendliness. This goes a lot deeper than that.
It’s not romantic. This is intimacy beyond that.
I’ve never experienced this before, and I don’t think I can ever let her go.
“He’s a terrible father. A shitty cop. And, a miserable human being, but he doesn’t deserve your tears.”
“I’m not crying for him, I’m crying for you.” Her sad eyes find mine, and I can’t look away.
Her beautiful hazel-blue eyes that shine with gold flecks during the day, and apparently deepen when she’s crying. The dark ring around her iris is thick and angry.
“Don’t cry for me, Olive. I can’t stand to see you cry.” The pad of my thumb traces her cheekbone, and her eyelids flutter when I reach her temple.
She’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen, but I’ve put her so high on a pedestal that it’s hard to fathom that she’s real.
“You’re my best friend, Jensen. I think I’d die if somethinghappened to you.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that. Your life is more important than mine. You have so much to offer the world, and it needs you because of it.”
“The world needs you, too.”
