He leaned in, his breath ghosting over my lips. "But I don't want him to," he whispered while allowing his gaze to linger on mine, “Which is why I need to leave before he comes out.”
Caiden’s soft touch yet chilling confession froze me in my spot, and I was helpless as he walked out the front door, leaving me with my ghosts.
7
AMELIA
The beach housesat against the beach like a blissful paradise. I closed my eyes and embraced the warmth of the ocean breeze, allowing it to fall into me.
Salty air filled my lungs, a taste of freedom I hadn't realized I craved. The rhythmic crash of waves was a soothing lullaby, washing away the anxieties of the world, leaving only the gentle pulse of the ocean and the quiet whisper of the wind.
The memory of my time in the dark cage in Blake’s basement was still there, but it was like a faint fog in the cervices of my mind, and I coddled the momentary distraction as if it were delicate glass.
Good things always had a way of shattering, and I hoped that this trip wouldn’t end up like the last one. Lost in the Colorado wilderness with Caiden. And the aftermath.
The memory returned; the night I begged him to come over, his warm, comforting presence wrapping around me like a soft blanket, the way I melted into him, his embrace as smooth as silk.
He left, and a chilling emptiness filled the space where his warmth had been, leaving me alone and yearning.
We spilled out of the SUV. Alex whistled low, stretching his arms overhead. “Not bad,” he said. “Hope it doesn’t collapse with us inside.”
Sabrina didn’t even look back. She yanked the trunk open, her ponytail bouncing with every step. She grabbed the cooler and the pink rolling suitcase and shoved them into Sydney’s waiting arms.
“Priorities, people,” Sabrina fired over her shoulder. “I want my feet in the water before these men ruin it with their stench.”
Sydney snorted, nearly tripping over the suitcase. “You’re acting like we’re racing?—”
“Aren’t we?” I said, but my voice already sounded far away. Like it belonged to someone else.
My skin crawled with memory. Wind, rapid and biting, slapping my face in Colorado. The endless howling. First the river, then the wilderness, then Blake’s laughter, echoing. The whiplash of trauma and relief, never quite separating in my mind.
But I forced my feet toward the porch steps, forced a smile into place. Because this was what it was supposed to be. A vacation. Beach air and new beginnings, not the lingering taste of blood.
Sabrina dropped the last of her gear at the door and planted both hands on my back. “Beach or bust, Amelia. Come on.” Her voice, all mock-command.
“Yeah, come on,” Sydney said, her laughter was warm. “Don’t let your grandma tendencies slow us down.”
I rolled my eyes for effect, letting them drag me forward. Past the battered porch swing and through the thin beach grass, the sand cool and gritty between my toes even through my shoes.
The ocean yawned ahead of us. A wall of pale green water, foaming at the edges, the crash and hiss of the tide grinding up the shore.
For a moment, I could almost feel okay. Just a girl with friends, not a survivor. Not a ghost.
Sabrina flung her arms wide, spinning in a tight circle. “God, look at it,” she breathed, voice gone reverent. “Why would anyone ever leave a place like this?”
Sydney set the cooler down with a dramatic flourish and shot Sabrina a glare. “Because winter exists, and so do hurricanes.”
I made myself laugh. “And creepy men with binoculars?”
They both laughed at that, too. The shared sound splintered the static in my skull, just for a second.
Sabrina nudged my arm. “Can we just stand here a minute? Before the guys show up and start talking about football or meat or whatever weird shit they do?”
Sydney flopped into the sand, cross-legged, purple-painted toenails flashing. “Please. I’m serious, I need like ten minutes of this. No boys allowed.”
I let myself take it in. The way the waves knifed up the rocks at the far edge, the dark smudges of seaweed tangling at the shoreline, the salt sting burning my lips. Even the sun felt raw, like it was trying too hard to warm us.
But the inside of me was miles away. Stuck in the dark, in the wet and the cold. Stuck somewhere I’d never fully leave.
