Page 86 of Absolution

Quinn’s by my side, supporting me from falling to the floor. I’m bent over, hands on my knees. “Deep breaths and take it slow. Persistence is the key to steadiness. You’ve got this, man.”

“C’mon,” I glance up at the hand stuck in my face, “take it.”

I do just that. I latch on to that damn hand like a lifeline, dragging me from the undertow. “I… I-”

“You heard the man; you’ve got this, and we’re here for it.” Mark slaps his hand over mine, grounding me, as I lean on him.

I nod. “It’s time to finish it.”

“Hell, yes!” Quinn thumps my back, giving me the nudge I need.

“Ladies, I need to go beg the love of my life to forgive me. Please, excuse me.” I turn without another word and bolt toward the door.

I may never convince Scarlet to give me another chance, but if I don’t try, it’ll be the one regret I’ll never survive. She is everything I’ve always needed, it’s the reason I gravitated to her in college.

Scarlet’s the reason I made it home.

“She’s what I’ve been missing, Scarlet brings it all together. She’s my final piece, the one that finishes the puzzle.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Creed

I stop at the house, grabbing a bag and Doc. As we start out the door, the light over the table draws me to it. I drop my duffle and amble over. I lay my finger over the last remaining piece.

I slide it left and then right, thinking of all she’s went through to find me and take care of for us. It’s not about owing her anything; for me, it’s about giving her everything she deserves.

“She’s my missing piece, always has been. If she’ll have me, she’ll get all of my forever’s.” I pick up the piece, ready to put it in its home, only to find a ring is already there. It’s the one from college I gave Scarlet, she must’ve left it here. “The piece has been here all along.”

The room spins, knocking me to the floor as I drown in memories crashing over me before I can catch my breath. One after the other, like dreams of another life, I’m thrown into a forgotten world.

My parents cheering my cousins and me on as we play ball. The first day of middle school, my first kiss. Days, months, years of memories whip around me like waves in a storm, I’m tossed around.

I watch as I cross the stage during my high school graduation and leave for my first day of college. My mom holds me close, crying as she tells me what a blessing I’ve been to them, their only child.

The first time Scarlet flashes before my eyes, I gasp and struggle for air. My lungs burn as if I’ve been running for weeks on end, I think I have, looking for her. Because at this moment, I knew I’d love her forever.

Forever, the words I mutter to her as we make love for the first time. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears when I tell her I’ve enlisted, never asking her if she’d wait. Leaving her standing alone as I walk away.

“Will you stay mine?” Her words haunt me even now as a memory from the day I left. She holds everything I couldn’t carry with me; she’s my afterlife. Even after death, or what I thought would be mine.

“My God… what have I done to her?” I wither under the weight she’s shouldered while I’ve been gone. My heart stops beating as I search her eyes that final day, remembering her last words.

“Promise me, you’ll always find me.” We were robbed, like a death in the middle of the night. It crept in and took me under. I was lost in the darkest recesses of hell and had no chance to reach for her.

Even if I had, she wouldn’t have known where to find me. Even now, I know she was more alone than I ever could’ve been. I promised her forever and gave her misery.

I fist my hair, screaming as the person I used to be collides with who I am now. For so long, I thought there’d be a struggle, that who I was and now need to be, would fight until one of me was dead.

I’ve been so wrong because they’re the same person. I didn’t change, not even when I couldn’t remember who I was. My life has run parallel, waiting for one to catch up with the other.

“I need to find her.” I fight my weakened body to stand, as Doc runs to me. “She’s ours… they’re our family.”

My bag sits by the front door, Doc and I stop long enough for me to grab it off the floor and head out. My entire being is exhausted, I feel like I’ve been rebirthed. As though I have a new life.

The highway isn’t busy this time of night, and the moon shines bright, clearing a path for my drive home. I know the first thing I have to do when I get back to Cherry Grove.

So, I set my eyes on my target and press the gas. The sooner I can get home, the better off we’ll all be. I peek back at Doc; her head is laying on my headrest.