Harlen’s quivering hands are on my cheeks, bringing my gaze to his, and when my eyes meet his murky blues, I see that they’re a waterfall of tears too, bloodshot and bleeding. They’re bleeding with me.
“What?” he asks.
I clear my throat. “Laney, she was my friend from performing arts school.”
“You can get through this, Blaine. Hold on with me and take a deep breath.”I shiver when I hear her words, her voice echoing through my head.
“She was there, and she was the reason I didn’t take my own life. She was the bravest woman I have ever met.”
Recognition flickers through his eyes. “That was the funeral Cameryn and Tyler went back to Shadow Heads for, right?” I nod, and he continues, “Do they know about her, about you?” The question is spoken so quietly, and I’m already nodding again before he finishes.
“Fuck, Cherry.”
I swipe beneath my nose, collecting tears and whatever the fuck else, when Harlen holds my face, his forehead pressed to mine. He attempts speaking, but I cut him off.
“I want to kill them, Harlen. I want to take their lives from them, the same way they took mine.” I’m shaking my head, more tears falling when I stutter out, “Every time I catch a glimpse of myself naked in the mirror, I see them and what they did to me. They are everywhere, hidden in every corner of my life.”
Voices drift from below the balcony of Harlen’s room, and I can hear Chase’s, before Cameryn’s laugh follows and Tyler berates him for something.
“I survived, but I’m still trapped by their chains.”
I don’t look away from Harlen, and he only holds me tighter. His eyes drift back and forth between mine as he whispers, “I have an idea. Do you trust me?”
I nod, because I do.
Wholeheartedly.
Iknew it was bad.
The way she had been left for dead was a sightno onecould ever prepare themselves for, yet hearing the details of the sick and gruesome actions she was forced to endure was fucking gut wrenching.
My girl had survived the worst of the worst, and she was still standing, fighting for her peace when surrendering would have been easier.
The heat in my veins matches the intensity of the fire front that engulfed me when I was told my mother was no longer coming home.
It’s as raw and wicked as I remember.
Why did everything bad always happen to the souls of the good?
I wanted to tear the heads off the motherfuckers who had done this to her. I wanted them to beg for their lives, the way I know my girl would have, then I wanted to rip it away from them, the same way they had hers.
I knew I didn’t have the ability to take her pain away, but I sure as fuck would spend the rest of my goddamn life alleviatingthe pressure. Her demons were mine, and I would carry the weight of them until the day I fucking died.
“Chase,” I shout, my voice echoing into the quiet, crisp night.
Cherry and I step out of the glass paneled doors at the kitchen when Chase, Cameryn, and Tyler snap their attention our way. Cherry’s fingers are curled with mine, her free hand trembling around my forearm as she nestles herself into my side.
I jerk my chin back toward us. “Need you for something.”
I have an idea.
And I have a feeling this is exactly what Cherry needs. Though it will not come close to healing her wounds, we can try our best to blur them, diminish the visibility to her daily eye with a picture that offers her strength.
A speck of hope.
Chase pulls the blunt from his mouth, flicking the long strands of dark hair that hang over his face away from his eyes, before shoving it behind his ears and taking one last hit. He passes it to Cam, then kicks up from the lounge, smoothing his tattooed palms down the length of his oversized t-shirt. Tapping Ty on the back, he moves in our direction.
Tyler is bent over, his elbows resting on his knees as he watches us. His thumbs are pressed to his lips, the chrome rings across his fingers glinting in the darkness. Cameryn leans forward, her hand settling on his knee when she whispers into his ear before blowing out a cloud of smoke through her nose.
