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I kiss Parker with all the anger I have in me. He thinks it’s a promise, but the only promise I’ve made is to myself – that this ends here, and now. His hands release me, and I’m free. I pull back, our eyes meeting, a fleeting expression of joy on Parker’s face.
“I’m sorry, Parker,” I say, and with my remaining strength, I push him into the abyss.
His expression changes at the last second and he grabs me, trying to pull me down with him.
“June!” Kade calls out. "I love you, June! No!”
Those are his last words to me before Parker falls, pulling me down into the deep abyss with him. I can hear the sea crashing against the rocks below me. And then there's nothing but darkness.When I pushed Parker into the abyss, he lost his hold on me. The last thing I remember is his desperate face as he mouthed my name, turning into a scream as he realized he was falling, falling, falling deeper into the abyss. I think shock took over, but it wasn't before my adrenaline kicked in.
When Parker let go of me, I grabbed on to the edge covered in bushy, thick ivy. I remember it breaking beneath my fingers, but Kade was there. Kade, who is always my savior, always there to make it all better. He pulled me up. I don't know how he managed, but I was in his arms when I landed back in reality. He was clutching me close like I would fall apart in his arms if he let go. And he never did.
Not even when they came to the island hours later and tried to pry me out of his arms. He carried me to the boat, held me in his embrace as we went back to the mainland. He was the one who placed me in the hospital bed and never left my side. I slept for two days straight, and he later told me how worried he was when I wouldn't wake up. The doctors reassured him I would be okay, and thankfully, they were right. When I wake up, I am smothered by my husband's hug. He looks at me with longing.
"You're back," he murmurs. "I thought I lost you, Junebug. I thought I lost everything..." I see the pain in his eyes. We've each lost both of our parents, and he thought he lost his twin years ago, the only connection he had left to his family. I can't imagine the pain had he lost me too.
"I'm here," I say slowly, my voice raspy from the days of not speaking. He gets me a glass of water, and I take long gulps of the pleasantly cool liquid. We settle on the bed together. "What happened?" I ask hesitantly because I have to know. I need to be sure this time around, need to know the monster from my nightmares has been put to rest once and for all. Kade hesitates, gently stroking my fingers as he pulls me in a tighter embrace. I let him wait because I know he will tell me on his own time. Finally, several long minutes later, he begins to talk.
"He fell. He didn't want anyone to have you if he couldn't," he explains tiredly, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.
"Is he...?" I begin, my voice breaking in the middle of the question. I must know, and I am so fucking frightened of the answer. I don’t want to hear Parker is gone because that would mean I'm all Kade has left. But I don't want to know that he's okay, either. Because I know I'll keep living my life in fear, which is not living at all. He implores me with his gaze, searching for answers even though I'm the one who asked the question. Finally, when I'm starting to think he won't tell me, he responds.
"We couldn't find his body. It's lost to the ocean now." His voice is thick with pain and sorrow even after everything that Parker did to us. After every terrible fight, those sleepless nights when I woke up screaming, thinking he had come for me. The days of torture, the mental exhaustion. The loss of my person, my best friend, my stepbrother. I know we will both mourn him.
Parker was my best friend, my confidant, and my light. Until the light went off in his soul and he let the darkness take him. I wish I could tell him the darkness came for me, too. It tried claiming me several times, but I resisted it. I was stronger than Parker could ever be.
"Marissa’s body was found buried on the island," he explains softly, and I cuddle into his arms. "They're sending it back to her father. He's the gallery owner Parker worked for."
