Page 36 of When Sky Breaks
His shoulders hunch over with a sigh as he runs a palm over the drying grass near the grave. “I’m sorry, Chase. I know it doesn’t make up for any of this.” He hangs his head, his voice growing hoarse. “But I promise you I’m trying. I’ll always try. It’s the only thing I know how to do.”
There’s a soft “fuck” he utters as he grinds the heels of his hands into his eyes.
A ringing begins in my ears, and a stinging pricks at my eyes. My stomach knots as my throat closes.
The man I’m supposed to hate is whispering to the little brother I loved and lost. The irony spears my soul and bares it belly up for the world to see.
There’s so much left to be said between us, but I bury those words for another day. August always had a way of making me overlook the cruelty of the world. So even though his actions ripped away the fabric of my reality, I can’t stay away.
Not now. Not anymore.
“August?” My voice wavers and floats over the breeze—barely a whisper. The roar of blood in my ears increases, and my knees grow weak.
His broad shoulders stiffen. Slowly, he stands and turns, lifting his head. Gray eyes widen at the corners, and he swallows, the faint dusting of scruff moving as his jaw flexes. His voice comes out low and choked, slicing right through my chest. “Shortcake?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
august
“Shortcake?”
Her wide eyes snap to mine when she hears that all-too-familiar nickname, and I clamp my lips tight, blood pounding in my veins.
How—why is she here?
My heart rattles in its iron cage. My palms itch with sweat and the desire to cup her flushed cheeks. The ground holds me captive as I gape at the ghost from my past.
When I crossed county lines two years ago and drove back to this town, I knew there would be a moment where I’d have to face what I did. But Sky never came home. She left for college and never returned.
Until now.
It would be stupid to think it’s because she heard I was here. That’s just my starving heart talking—the hunger and ache are bottomless.
She’s home because of Foster. I knew the moment he got diagnosed, she’d come back.
My idiotic plan was to pretend everything was fine if I ever saw her—pretend I didn’t shatter her heart, that I wasn’t responsible for taking away the one thing she loved most. But it’s impossible now that she’s standing in front of me.
There’s the bitter hope she moved on, met someone worthy of her, maybe got engaged, or had a kid. We’re still young, but she deserves to have the happiness I could never give her, even as the idea twists my gut and hollows my soul.
You try losing the one.
The girl you’d do anything for but failed miserably. Missing her every day, every night, knowing you were the one who walked away, who lit the match, who destroyed everything important to her.
Try losing her and then seeing her again.
That’s the dark side of love. The shadow lingers, aware of its sins, but can’t let go of the one thing that might save it.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, a little breathless.
Her voice is soft, but the rest of her isn’t. Sky’s rigid, the muscles tensing in her hands. All we do is stare at each other, chests heaving in choppy breaths.
God, she’s so beautiful. Gone is the little Sky I knew. In her place is a stunning woman. Creamy skin with a leftover bronze from the summer and a sweep of blonde hair I could touch all day. But her once brilliant baby blues show the cost of time. They’re etched in a bone-deep sadness.
I clear my throat and finally look away from her to the flowers still bunched in my hands.
Why am I here?
I go for the truth for once.