Page 111 of Above All Else
He gave a curt nod. “Right.” Sighing, his shoulders rose, his gaze tossed to the floor. “I know what happened was wrong. I tried to...” he grumbled. “My therapist and I are working through making amends, and I’m trying here.”
“I know you’re sorry, Dad.”
His eyes lit up as they clashed with mine. “You do?”
“Yes.” I gulped. “But that changes nothing. You would be in jail right now if it weren’t for the statute of limitations expiring.” His face fell, and my heart plummeted with him. “And you supported Mom through this whole trial.”
“Please, June-bug.”
Carter squeezed my hand, and I glanced at him with a tight-lipped smile. “We’re going to go. Please stay away.”
“Let me make it up to you.”
I gave a derisive laugh. “No. The best you’ll get from me is the house Carter bought you. Other than that, you’re on your own.” I released a shaky breath. “Bye, Dad.”
With a heavy heart, we turned our backs on him and walked out of the courthouse. I glanced back at my father before the doors closed, and for the first time in my life, I saw tears streaming down his face. His shoulders trembled as silent sobs racked his chest.
“You did great, dollface.”
“Really? It doesn’t feel that way.” The fragile organ in my rib cage ached, pleading with me to turn around, to wrap my arms around my father, to forgive him, and escape this nightmare together. But my mind roared the loudest, drowning out the soft cries of my soul.
“I know. And I’m sorry this is the way things turned out.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” I grimaced. “Your sister is dead, and my mother is in prison for life in a state I’ll never stepfoot in again.”
“You know what I mean.”
I let out a shaky sigh, tears sliding down my cheeks as he opened the car door for me. “It’s just so surreal. You know?”
Slipping inside the rental car, I folded my skirt over my knees. “I get it.” He shut the door and rounded the car, sitting on the driver’s side. “But if there’s one thing we’ve figured out so far, it’s that we can conquer anything together.”
I forced down the ache in my throat with a nod.
Our bond had deepened over the past eight months, each day weaving us closer together. We shared every waking moment, laughter and conversations filling the spaces between us. My new teaching job and his regular schedule blended into our lives, creating a comforting rhythm. Yet, despite the growing warmth between us, a dark cloud circled overhead like vultures waiting for its prey to take its last breath.
Now that it was over, we could breathe. We could fall into each other and start living like we should have all those years ago.
Before Amber put herself between us.
The drive to the modest airport was quick, and the small town of Gypsum offered a limited number of flights.
“What are we going to do when we get home?” Carter parked the car in the hangar, and we got out. He popped the trunk, grabbing our suitcases, and then handed them to the worker.
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”
Carter leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. “We can dowhatever you need, June. Whatever it takes to forget all this... if only for a little while.”
I shied away from him as his parents came into view—their belts buckled, Linda’s tears dried, leaving her face pale and weary. Frank sat beside her, his silence heavy and his expression an unreadable book.
Carter gave me a teasing smile, his eyes gleaming with a mix of exhaustion and relief, but I couldn’t match it.
Not yet.
His arm brushed against mine as we buckled up, the touch a fleeting but reassuring warmth. I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat, making it difficult to breathe, and blinked away the sting in my eyes as the plane ascended into the sky. Each bump and jolt mirrored my turmoil, strengthening the pang with every passing moment.
Forgetting was impossible.
But sitting with Carter by my side and his parents’ stable presence behind us, I wasn’t alone.