Chapter 29
Willow
Willow’s thoughts were blurry. She was struggling to keep warm, even with the blanket wrapped tightly around her, as she huddled in the far corner of The Diner. She could barely recall the walk back from Eric’s home, only that it had seemed to take forever and that her feet had kept slipping at every step. It was like she was in a bad dream, or actually a nightmare that she had always dreaded being part of.
Maybe it had been a mistake going to Eric’s in the first place, but she had been driven there by loyalty and fear. She knew Jake barely bothered with his father, and that frustrated her. She still had good memories of Eric from when she was really little, and she and her mom had lived next door. Yes, he had drunk a little too much, but he had also been funny and kind. In those days, Willow never even bothered to talk to the surly little boy that lived with him and Jake had never been interested in her. He was a quiet, boring kind of kid that she barely gave a thought to.
As she walked to Eric’s, she had started to relive all these memories and the reality of her relationships with both Lucas and Jake. She was always too busy with Lucas when she was younger. It was only later, in high school,when Jake – now a good-looking and popular kid – actually wanted to speak to her.
‘You were my neighbor once,’ he’d joked. ‘You used to hang out with Lucas all the time. You never wanted to include me.’
She guessed they didn’t. In those days, she and Lucas had been so tight they hadn’t let anyone in. They were always at risk of excluding others, though she hadn’t realized it at the time. They certainly didn’t bother with Willow’s shy neighbor. Jake soon made sure that she got to know him in high school though, including her in his new group of friends, inviting her to exciting places and pretty much making it clear that he had always had a crush on her.
And before long, it was Lucas that was pushed out. Willow just wished that she had realized what was happening.
‘I don’t think you knew how hard it was for me, growing up with Eric,’ Jake had confided in her later still. ‘I was alone with him most of the time, putting up with his drinking and swearing. I hated it so much and I was so young. I was relieved to finally move out. That’s why I do everything to stay away from Honey Springs.’
By the age of nine, Jake had moved in with his mom at her place in the Ridge. He’d come back to Honey Springs on weekends to pick up things and probably check that his dad was still alive. As soon as they were eighteen, Jake told Willow his big plans. He wanted to move to the city and take her with him.
She followed him, because at the time, it seemed the right thing to do. She hadn’t factored in all the people they would be leaving behind.
As she had reached Eric’s cabin, Willow’s heart beat with further determination.
Eric was sick. No matter what difficult childhood Jake had had, he couldn’t keep ignoring the fact that his dad needed help.
And Willow wasn’t about to leave him again.
Willow had been lucky that the front door was open, and she was able to step into the house easily enough. Immediately, the mess of the place shocked her. Piles of clutter greeted her, alongside a stench of sweat and dirt. Eric was slumped in his favorite battered chair, beer bottles scattered at his feet.
She tried desperately to coax Eric awake.
He groaned and protested as Willow tugged on his arm, begging him to move. She couldn’t budge him. He was too far gone, and she wasn’t strong enough. With a stab of defeat, Willow swore and was about to walk away.
But then the landslide hit.
She didn’t remember much, only that for a brief moment she thought the world was actually ending. She fell back and hit her arm on something sharp. The house shifted and groaned around her as earth and other crap rushed in to greet her.
It was probably only moments, but it felt like hours. The noise rang in her ears like a slaughter. Her eyes stung and her mouth tasted of dirt.
She looked around blindly. Eric was on the floor. His head was bleeding. She crawled towards him, calling his name, tugging on his shirt, but he was unresponsive.
Tears blinded her as she staggered to her feet and made her way carefully out, towards the weakening light.
When she saw Lucas, she thought she was hallucinating. Surely, he couldn’t be there? Her legs had buckled underneath her. She cried out.
But then he was there, gathering her up in his arms, whispering in her ear and holding her close.
He was there.
He was there.
She kept repeating those words in her head.
He was there.
He was always there.
The storm had picked up strength again and was beating its fists on the glass of the building, determined to break through.
