“You think our father would’ve stopped?” Jack asked quietly. “You think he would’ve pulled back, gone to therapy, worked his ass off to be better?”
I kept my lips pressed together because we both knew the answer.
“You’re terrified of becoming him,” Jack continued. “I get it. But you’re not him, Derek. You never were.”
“You don’t understand.” My voice cracked. “You weren’t raised by him. You don’t know what it’s like to have that in your blood, to wonder if you’re just one bad day away from turning into—”
“You think you’re the only one with fucking demons? I was left at a fucking fire station when I was a few days old,” Jack interrupted. His voice was steady, but there was pain underneath. “I spent years bouncing around homes believing no one wanted me. Not even my fucking mother. You don’t think that fucks you up? Makes you think every person that comes into your life won’t leave? That you’re not worth staying for?”
I stared at him. “Jack—”
“We both have shit to work through,” he said, his voice rough. “Different shit, but it’s still there. You’re afraid of becoming our father. I’m afraid of being abandoned like our mother abandoned me. Neither of us had a normal childhood, and we’re both fucked up because of it.”
The silence stretched between us, heavy with years of unspoken pain.
“I don’t know how to fix it,” I admitted.
“Neither do I.” Jack met my eyes. “But we can’t keep running from it. We need to deal with this shit, Derek. Together.”
“Haizley,” I said quietly.
“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “We keep seeing Haizley. Both of us. We work through this crap so we don’t pass it on to our kids.”
Our kids. Charlie and Frankie. Two little girls who deserved better than the broken men we were.
“And what if she takes Frankie and runs?” My words betrayed my fears. “What if Kat finds out the truth and decides I’m exactly the kind of man she should keep her daughter away from?”
“Then you fight for them,” Jack stated. “The way our mother never fought for us. You fight, Derek. Because that’s what parents do.”
The silence lingered again, heavy with everything left unsaid.
“I’m terrified,” I finally admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I know.” Jack’s hand gripped my shoulder. “I was too when I met Charlie the first time. But you’re not alone anymore. Neither of us are.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Okay?”
“Yeah.” I took a breath. “We’ll do it together.”
Jack gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “We’re brothers. We should’ve been doing this together from the start.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
Time passed quickly, but also too fucking slow. We covered miles of land, checking every cluster of trees, every abandoned structure, every possible hiding spot. Nothing.
My phone buzzed with updates from the other search teams. No sign of them. Still searching.
The fear was starting to claw at my throat. What if they’d left the property? What if something had happened? What if...
I pointed the truck to the left where a small shed sat in the distance. “Derek!” Jack’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.
I looked up and saw someone sprinting toward us across the open ground.
Nox.
I jerked the wheel and slammed on the brakes, practically falling out of the truck as it came to a stop. Jack was already moving, both of us running toward him.
