“I knewIloved you. I thought I knewyouloved me, but you disappeared. Poof, gone.”
“Stop throwing that in my face. I didn’t have a choice—”
“So you keep saying,” I interrupt.
“It’s the truth. You could’ve written to me.”
“And address it to where?” I toss my arms in the air. “I didn’t know where the hell you were.”
“You could’ve called my parents.”
“The same parents who we now know kept your letter from me? The same ones who never shared any information about what happened.” I huff a humorless laugh. “And even if I did, Jett, what would I tell them? Hi, Nora and Samuel, your son got me pregnant before he disappeared, butI LOST THE BABY!” I scream the last part, finally at my breaking point.
He flinches, running his fingers through his messy blond hair.
I swallow hard. “I wasn’t calling them. I was drowning in grief, and I decided—”
“Decided I wasn’t worthy of the truth?”
“I was angry!”
“You robbed me of the chance to grieve our daughter. To grieve the life I wanted with you.” His voice breaks, fury lacing his glare as he points to me.
No longer able to keep my sobs at bay, tears pour down my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I…”
My voice trails off, because what do I have to say? Jett clenches and unclenches his fists. Even though anger is coursing through him, I know he’d never hurt me. I know I’m safe with him. He needs time to process. I don’t know ifI would’ve told him, but this isn’t how I wanted him to learn the truth. He’s blindsided, and I can’t blame him. We’ve hurt each other in more ways than one. We may or may not be able to move on, but I want to try, even if it’s just a chance for us to sort out our shit and wash our hands of each other. We both deserve to learn the truth, the gaps in our history, the secrets we’ve kept buried.
His pain-etched stare bores into me. It feels like he’s going to break any second. Shatter into a million pieces at my feet, and I’ll be left trying to put the puzzle back together.
But I don’t get the chance. He shuts down, face morphing into blankness as his shoulders go rigid.
“I’ve got to go.”
I gasp. “Jett, please. Don’t walk away like this.”
He grabs his keys, then a t-shirt from the laundry basket, and slides into tennis shoes.
“Lock the door on your way out.”
He doesn’t spare me a glance as he slams the door behind him.
I sit brokenly at the kitchen table, cold latte in my hand, tears still filling my vision. Storm nudges my leg, and I slide onto the floor next to her. I wrap my arms around her neck and bury my face in her soft fur as my tears soak into her.
We dreamed thousands of dreams, but they always started and ended with us together. No matter what future we dreamed up, he was always by my side.
I lost him once, and I’m losing him again.
Chapter 19
Jett
Idrivethepost-holediggerharder into the soil than I need to, especially with how soft the ground is from the storm earlier this week. It’s not a fancy gas-operated machine. No, it's one of those old-school metal ones.
How has it only been a few days since I was trapped inside Wren’s house with her? It feels like a lifetime ago. Hell, it feels like a storm every time Wren and I are near each other. Like Heaven and Hell colliding, casting the world in a black cloud.
I dig harder, muscles straining as I slam the digger into the earth. Hauling another load of dirt to the side, I drop it into the pile forming. Sweat beads on my forehead as the cotton t-shirt clings to my skin. Thank God, I had an extra pair of jeans and work boots in the truck. I had to borrow socks from my grandpa.
The sound of my back door slamming haunts me. I feel like a dick for leaving the way I did, but I had to get out of there. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stay in the house any longer with her.
