"Of course. Is everything alright?”
He entered the apartment, kicking the door shut behind him with enough force it slammed shut and dropped his keys on the crate-coffee table. He really needed a bowl. “You didn’t have to stay.”
Uh-oh. It seemed I’d overstayed my welcome. Chase stared at the spot on the futon next to me where he should sit and hesitated, not about to join me.
“When I lost my temper and went after Hodge, I scared him away. He’s gone.”
"Gone? What—” the question died in my throat, sensing more upsetting news incoming.
“Merritt worked so hard on this for so long, it kept him away from Aaron, he was devoted to ensuring Hodge saw justice. I was so pissed he wouldn’t let me in, he had no good reason to shut me out, but he was right. I blew it.”
I stood and he let me approach but avoided my grasp when I tried to reach for him.
"Merritt was in control. They had the bastard right in the palm of their hands. They were so close. Now Merritt has to run after him and follow his trail. It’s so much riskier. If anything happened, it would be my fault."
His gaze, so careful to view anything but me, finally found my eyes. The warm chestnut irises never looked so cold and the things there haunting him broke my heart.
“I don’t think things through,” Chase said. “People get hurt. First Aaron, now Merritt. You need to go. If something happened to you because of me, it would destroy me.”
“This isn’t really what you want.” I seized his hand and gripped on tightly. “Is it?”
“I’m sorry.” His thumb caressed the back of my hand for a fleeting second.
"Don’t do this." Oh god, I actually found myself begging. “Please, Chase.”
"We were lucky this time. I don’t want you paying the price when my luck runs out."
He opened the front door for me and left the room. Chase’s message was crystal clear, and unsure of other options, I walked through the open door. Only felt right to shut it behind me since he wasn’t even in the living room anymore, just a common courtesy. I tried to ignore how final it felt.
24.Picking up the Pieces
Lucas
It was final.
Our goodbye, or the pathetic excuse for a farewell we shared where Chase kicked me out of his apartment was the last time we spoke. Five long days passed.
I went back to my apartment. I resumed my normal life. Except I hadn’t had much of one before I met—before the incident at the gas station. That event jolted me awake and helped me realize how stuck I’d been.
So while part of me felt like hibernating in my apartment and being miserable again, I forced myself out. There were people who cared about me, and I surrounded myself with them.
"Bullseye? Lucas? Hello?" Uncle Gary cleared his throat, trying to get my attention. “Come on in.”
Oh. Standing on his front porch, I barely noticed when he opened the door and invited me in.
We were only hanging out and watching movies, so several seconds passed in quiet confusion when I handed over the gift I brought for him.
"You drink brandy?" he asked eventually.
"Once."
"Want another?"
"No thank you,” I said. “I think you’ll enjoy it."
“How you feeling?” Dad was already on a couch in the living room when I entered. He jumped up and began escorting me as though I couldn’t make the journey on my own. “Are you alright? Either you or your poor uncle suffered a stroke because he claims you’re interested ingoing campingnext weekend.”
“Yeah, Dad.”
