Page 146
Her face holds no emotion. She doesn’t look angry. She doesn’t look sad. She looks empty. A broken fragment of the girl she was. Exactly how I always wanted her. I got my wish. And now she’s leaving. Not just this world or our dull little town, me.
She asked for one reason to stay. Only one. She doesn’t realize there are a thousand. But I can’t say anything. I can’t get a single fucking word out.
There was always something about her that called to me. I was addicted from day one, obsessive even before that. It was always Sumner, and no matter how the cards played out, it was always going to be Sumner. Our lives were woven together between worlds and without our knowing. I was meant to find her.
And now I’m going to lose her.
So why can’t I fucking speak?
Her lips slip between her teeth, and she takes in a heavy breath.
Sumner pulls away from me, breaking the contact I’m not near ready to end.
I watch as she brings the little tube to her mouth, tilting her head back and swallowing every last drop of the liquid meant to steal her away.
Three.
That’s all I get. Three final beats of her heart, and then she’s gone.
I stare at the place she stood, feeling a heavy weight climb through me. It sits on my chest, pressing down. The girl I never wanted, never wanted me. We were each other’s drop of venom, a toxin meant for only the deepest destruction.
All the promises I never made, every unspoken apology, all swept away, lost to the empty silence.
She didn’t even say goodbye.
I walk steadily up the stairs and into the living room, stepping past the fallen barstool and around the battered throw pillows.
The sweet, juicy aroma of ripe strawberries cuts through the brown paper bag I’d tossed to the counter. It’s mixed with a warmth from the buttery biscuits and smoky bacon—my first attempt at making today something different for us. I’d imagined going out to get this so she could have breakfast in bed would have made for a far less convoluted day.
Now, the smells only make my stomach roll. I pick up the bag, gripping it loosely, and throw the whole thing in the trash.
There’s a mess of shattered glass, her final farewell. The broom sits by my feet. I kick it aside, leaning my back against the wall so I can sink to the floor. Cool liquid meets my hand. I look down, seeing the broken remains of the snow globe Sumner had given me.
She really did intend to leave me with nothing.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
SUMNER
Istand frozen at the door, far more nervous than I should be. I hope this is still the right place. Moving around is something he and I had gotten quite good at, staying in one place for only a short period of time before the need to leave ate at us—a triggered impulse from our childhood.
All homes were only ever temporary.
With a deep breath, my knuckles tap against the wooden door.
There’s no response. No footsteps from the inside, no movement of the blinds from someone looking out to see who it is, nothing.
How long was I gone? Four months? Five? Time seemed to blur together while I was away. I’d almost forgotten this part of my life.
“Sumner?”
I turn to the sound of my name, feeling a rush of comfort at the voice it belongs to. And like a lost memory, there he is. Dirty blond hair and light blue eyes. Eyes that have seen too much. A man who has endured years of pain and suffering at my side.
He walks across the sidewalk, stopping when he reaches me.
I lied to Rhenn when I said I had friends here. I don’t. There’s no one I let in. No one, except him, the boy who always tried to save me. The only person who’s ever really cared about me. The one man I would give everything for.
Luca.
