He can live for now, glancing over his shoulder every time he sees a tall guy like me. When he thinks I’ve forgotten about him, when he believes the danger has passed,that’swhen I’ll strike.
He will pay for everything he did.
“He wanted to upset you,” I tell her.
“Yeah. But it doesn’t change the facts. My mom wasn’t perfect. I never deluded myself into thinking that she was. I used to wish she was stronger, and that she’d tell my dad to stay away from us instead of welcoming him into our home whenever he felt like coming around. But I never thought she’d do something like that.”
The pain in her voice hits me right in the chest. “You don’t know what she was going through at the time. Maybe your dad didn’t leave her much of a choice.”
“Maybe. But why would she never tell me about that? I feel betrayed, I guess. Growing up, I had so many people lie to me. She lied to me for a few weeks after she got her diagnosis, and when I learned the truth, I felt betrayed about that too, but this feels different. Somehow, it feels worse.”
“I think in both instances, she was trying to protect you. Or maybe she was ashamed. She didn’t want her daughter to be even more disappointed in her. How would you have reacted if she'd told you?”
We scale the steps of the deck, and Blake turns to me. The tip of her nose is pink from the cold, and her eyes seem sad. “I don’t know. I probably would've gotten upset. From an early age, all I wanted was to have a normal family. To be like the rest of the kids in my class.”
I lean down and give her a kiss. “Normal is boring, Sunshine. There’s nothing boring about you.”
Her lips twitch, but the sadness in her gaze lingers. I wish I knew how to make it disappear. I’ll keep trying until I do.
“Is that how you felt when you first got to Darkwater Hollow?” she asks softly. “Bored?”
“I felt a lot of things. Boredom was one of them. Until I met you, that is.”
“Would you ever do it again?”
“Walk away from this life?”
She nods. “Yeah.”
I place my hand on the railing and look out toward the ocean. There are so many layers to that question.
“No one walks away from this because they want to. You either die, or you get forced out the way I was.” I let out a breath. “I learned many lessons in Darkwater Hollow and one of them is that this is who I am. There’s no getting away from it. No matter where I am or what my name is, this life will always find a way to pull me back in.”
Blake bites down on her bottom lip, looking uneasy.
I wonder if she's still holding out hope that there's a way out of this for both of us eventually.
There isn’t. This is our life, and there’s no point in fighting it.
I take her hand in mine and pull her toward the house. “Let’s head in.”
CHAPTER 29
BLAKE
The sunset is windy but gorgeous, and Nero and I watch it from the deck, his arm wrapped securely around my shoulders.
The sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore calms me. I’m sure that was Nero’s intention when he brought me here. He doesn’t know the secret I’m hiding, but I think he can sense there’s something bothering me.
A heavy breath travels through my chest.
I can see a future with him, so why do I still need to have an escape plan? And is it really so bad that I do have one?
Getting that passport from Vita isn’t the same as using it.
You still don’t trust him. Not fully.
No, it’s not that.
