AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t sign up for this shit.
Seeing Juliet crying out in the alley hurt.
It’s your fault.
Those tears are on me, and deep down I know it.
You should have been there for her. But you pushed her away because you couldn’t handle her pain.
No. I pushed her away because it was a sign from God. Our baby died so Juliet could be free.
Free from her family.
Free from this town and her place in it.
Free from me.
I blow out a shuddery breath and ease up on the gas pedal when I realize I’m pushing seventy in a fifty-five. Last fucking thing I need is a speeding ticket.
The town fades behind me, disappearing in the rearview as I put miles between me and Juliet. Me and everyone else.
I wanted her to save herself.
No, you wanted to save yourself.
Slamming my hand down on the steering wheel, I fight against all the emotions tumbling back: the anger, sadness, fear.
But the worst one’s the grief. Heavy, unrelenting, always with me.
Still with me.
She’s right and I know it—I did push her away. Because every time I saw her, all I could think about was our baby, our future.
And it was gone in minutes.
I wanted to be there for her. To hold her, tell her everything was going to be okay.
But it wasn’t. In that instant our entire future changed. The world tipped on its axis, topsy-turvy, and I was off balance. Nothing was the same again.
Selfishly, I wanted to keep her for myself. Hide out here in the country, away from everyone, everything. Stick to the plan and be together.
The two of us against the entire fucking world.
But being with Juliet was complicated. Beautiful, but complicated.
Just like her.
And we were so young, only in our twenties. What did we know about life back then? Having a kid, being parents? We were practically babies ourselves.
It was a sign.
She was throwing away her entire future to be with me, and it wasn’t right.
Juliet deserved better. More than I could give her.
I pull down the dark driveway, gravel crunching beneath the truck tires. I made record time, arriving back home early enough to feed the horses. Shooting Beau a quick text, I let him know I don’t need him to come back tonight.
I’ve got this.
