I unfold it slowly, exposing the rest of the words.
—
Dear Jensen,
I wasn’t happy.
He’s not my soulmate.
Still,
OliveGreenwood
—
I read the words again. And again. Convincing myself that I’m comprehending them wrong, and that I’m only seeing what I want to see.
I read it again, but this time I’m on my feet before I can finish, shoving through the cage door and sprinting up to the big house.
“She didn’t marry him?” I ask breathlessly, holding the letter in front of me.
Jo’s sitting next to Lochlan, looking at me tenderly. “She didn’t marry him.”
The gravel bites my knees as I fall to them. “Is she okay?”
“She will be,” Jo assures me.
My hands scrub at my arms as if I can wipe away the blood and grime caked to my skin. As if I can erase my psychotic break. She needs me, and she shouldn’t see me like this. I need to shower.
“Hayes,” Lochlan says, grabbing my attention. He waits until I look at him, and he shakes his head. “You can’t see her yet.”
“What? Why? I need to be there for her.”
“She needs time.” Jo looks at me sympathetically. “Alone.”
“Alone? She still has a stalker out there!”
“She’s staying with Thea for a while. Let her come to you when she’s ready.”
I grab the porch railing, letting my head hang between my shoulders. “And if she’s never ready?”
Jo shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Just be ready for her when she is,” Lochlan adds, trying to give me an ounce of hope.
He knows I won’t survive losing her again.
* **
11 years ago…
I can’t ruin her life. She has to go to college and escape the storm cloud that I live under. I love her more than life itself, and I can’t rot in here knowing she isn’t moving on.
“Cell 247, open,” the guard announces, waiting for the automatic buzzer to signal it’s unlocked. The heavy metal door creaks as it opens. “Cell 247, close.”
It slams shut behind me.
I’m alone. Lochlan must be at visiting hours. I just got done having my stitches removed from our scuffle the first day I was assigned to his cell.
