“My guy lost Adam.”
“What do you mean lost him?”
We’ve been trailing him since he showed up at the hospital. That’s the best I could do to keep Ash safe, aside from killing the motherfucker.
“I don’t know. I’m gonna head over there and see what happened.”
I nod.
“Fuck,” Shane mutters, standing to follow JT from the room. “I gotta check on Ash.”
My mind stays on the girl I’m not supposed to think about all day while I work. I’m finishing up the last vehicle of the day when I hear, “Did you kiss Shane’s sister at the party?”
I roll out from under the minivan I’m working on and sit up, resting my arms on my knees. Lily stands beside me, smirking.
“It sounds like you already know the answer to that.”
“Word travels fast.”
“Alright… Out with it.”
She throws up her hands. “I’m not saying a word. You wouldn’t listen to me anyway.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she continues, “However, if I were talking to someone whodoeslisten to sound advice, I’d say he should pull his head out of his ass. I’d tell him it’s clear to literally everyone but him how much that girl means to him, and he deserves to be happy. I’d also tell him not to fuck it up because what he did last time was fucked up.”
I run my hands through my hair, sighing. “None of that matters. She almost—” Shaking my head, I run my tongue over my teeth and try to collect my thoughts. “I was doing the right thing. If I go back on that now, it’d all be for nothing.”
“Would it?”
I scoff. She’s not fucking getting it. “Yeah.”
She places her hands on my shoulders. “You’re so very clueless, my dear Gabe. You aren’t the guy you were six years ago, and she’s not the kid she was. Maybe an honest conversation would do you both some good.”
“Yeah. That’s the part that sucks.”
I think that’s what’s been eating me alive since she came back. Because no matter how different we are, my feelings are the same, and I’m pretty sure hers are too. The magnet that pulled me to her back then is just as strong. Nothing about my love for her changed or dulled. I doubt it ever will.
I’m going to spend the rest of my life missing her.
33
ASH
AUGUST PRESENT DAY
All I have left at Gran’s is to meet the realtor to take pictures. Once I’m done, I can put this whole place behind me. So, I’m sitting at the table, looking through a photo album and soaking in the last moments of my time here.
I’m halfway through a bottle of wine, when someone knocks on the door.
“One second,” I shout, wiping my hands on my overalls and jogging to the door.
When I open it, Gabriel stands on the porch with his hands in his pockets. The hard expression I’ve come to expect over the last few weeks is entirely gone. The tight line of his mouth has softened and the crease that lives between his brows has smoothed. There’s a boyishness there that reminds me of the kid that stood on Gran’s porch all those summers ago. I haven’t seen him since Shane’s party a week ago, and I’ve shed a fair number of tears over the whole damn thing.
“Gabriel—” My brows pinch. “What are you doing here?”
He sucks in a deep breath like he’s preparing to dive underwater. “I… uh—fuck. I don’t know where to even start really. I replayed this in my head the whole way over here, but now…” He shifts his weight, pausing to collect his thoughts. “Listen, I know I should keep my distance and let you go back to your life. But…”
I’ve never seen him like this. If it’s fear or sorrow, I can’t tell, but his breaths are ragged, and his eyes glisten.
“I can’t watch you leave again without saying this. So, here it goes.”
