After meeting with the realtor, I make my way through the house with what little I’m taking with me in hand.
This is it. Taking one final look back at the only place I’ve ever felt at home, I soak it in—the mornings with Gran, all the days watching movies and fishing on the dock with Shane, the nights I stayed up writing in my journal about the boy I thought was the love of my life.
As much as I didn’t want to come back, I think saying goodbye to my past could be really good for me. It’s time. It’s time to put all of that to bed and really move on. It hurts, but there’s a part of me that’s being set free when I walk out that door today.
I miss Gran, but no matter how much I still feel her in this house, she’s not here. She’ll never be here and holding onto this piece of my past won’t change that.
When I first came back, Nik said Gran would be so proud of me, and I wasn’t sure I believed it then, but I do now. She would be proud of me for closing this chapter and making it to the other side. Because make no mistake, when I walk out that door, I will be on the other side of Ravens Ridge. I will have survived it. Then I’ll just live to tell the tale.
As a tear rolls down my face, I hear, “Did you think you could leave without saying bye?”
I spin to find Nik standing right inside the door.
Dropping my shit, I wrap my arms around her. “Never, I knew your ass would show up.” I chuckle.
“I’m gonna miss you. It’s been kind of nice having you around.”
I pull back. “I know, but Shane says he’s gonna come visit so you can hold him to that.”
“Oh, definitely. It’s been too long since I’ve seen Maggie. I bet she’s getting so big.”
“She is.” I give her a sad smile.
On my way out of town, I pass the garage, feeling like someone has stolen the breath from my lungs. He’s given me more than he’ll ever know, and I’ll always be glad to have loved him, but there is no room for us in this life.
I make one more stop at the bank before hitting the highway. I’m surprised to find the jewelry box my dad was looking for in her safety deposit box. He was wrong. Shane never took it. I stash it in my purse before finally heading home.
34
GABE
JULY 6 YEARS AGO
The night of the shooting.
“Abbot, Micheals, Taylor.” The guard unlocks the holding cell.
Shane jumps up, storming out like his ass is on fire. He hasn’t said a word to me the whole time we’ve been here. His sister was in my apartment, and now she may be dead. I’ve spent my share of time in jail, but this has by far felt like the longest. Part of me dreads leaving, though. What if when we get out, they tell us she’s gone. At least in here, I can still hold out hope.
After getting our shit, we head to the parking lot. Shane puts a few yards between us before pulling out his phone. JT goes to him.
My mother wraps her arms around my neck, sniffling. “Oh, honey! God, I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Ash?” The voice that comes out of me doesn’t sound like my own.
She pulls back. I don’t like that look on her face. “Last I heard, she was still in surgery.”
Relief and dread swirl and tangle in my gut. She’s alive, but for how long?
“Is she gonna be okay?”
She shakes her head, like she doesn’t want to answer. “I don’t know.”
My vision blurs. “Akers?”
She blinks. Her chin quivers. I don’t need her to shake her head again to know.
“Fuck.” Turning my back to her, I wipe my face with my shirt.
