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“Yeah,” I say, clearing my throat. “I just…realized something.”
He nods, a lopsided smirk on his face. “Well, you should go…be with your family.”
“I am,” I reply, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Before I have a chance to go in for a hug, he closes the distance, wrapping his arms around me. Feeling how tightly he holds me shatters my resolve.
In the blink of an eye, my tears are staining his hoodie as I let the emotion roll through me. A sob escapes when I feel him do the same.
“I love you, Isaac. And I’m so fucking proud of you.”
“I love you, too,” he replies, his voice cracking as he cries.
When we pull away from each other, our faces are a mess. Turning away, we quickly wipe our tears and compose ourselves.
“You know you can message me anytime,” he says, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I will,” I reply.
“Send me pictures of my niece. I’d really like that.”
Stepping backward, I smile at him. “I promise I will.”
“And uh…tell Dean I said hey.” He scratches the back of his neck as he smirks.
Laughing, I clear my throat. “You got it.”
“Bye, Caleb,” he says, waving at me as he walks toward the van at the back of the venue.
“Bye, Theo,” I call, making him laugh. “Good luck on the rest of your tour.”
“Thanks,” he replies before turning away.
One of his bandmates claps a hand on his back before Isaac jumps into the van.
And then that’s it. I’m in my car, driving home, tears streaming down my face as I replay that entire thing. It still feels like a dream, but a great dream.
For a brief moment, he gave me a piece of his life, and if that’s all I can get for now, I can live with that.
I keep thinking about what he said about feeling free. How we never truly escape our father’s judgment. And it makes me realize that if I’ll never escape the thoughts he’s planted in my head, then what is the point of running?
Just like the day I woke up in that hospital, swearing to Briar that I’d endure far worse for her, I want to be able to promise Dean the same thing. Whatever the world wants to throw at us, we can take it.
Toss us into the fires of hell if it wants to. For this love we share, it would still be worth it.
Fifty-One
Briar
The front door closing wakes me up. I pop up in bed and look at the clock to see it's past midnight. Caleb isn’t beside me, so I wait until I hear his familiar footsteps on the stairs before I relax.
When he steps into the room and sees me awake, he pauses. “Sorry,” he whispers. “Did I wake you?”
“It’s okay. Where were you?” I ask.
He’s in jeans and a baseball cap, definitely not what I’m used to seeing him in. With a sigh, he drops onto his side of the bed and stares at me.
“I saw Isaac,” he whispers.
