Page 96 of True Blue

"Blood is thicker than water, Theodore James. Remember that."

But Indie was my family—Indie filled me with a joy my own blood never could. Indie made me feel alive. Indie poured strength into my veins, made me believe in my own worth. Indie encouraged my art and guarded my trust with a devotion that never faded.

And I lost her.

I threw her away.

She's gone.

"Indie... she left me."

My voice is wrecked and broken, even to my ears.

Luke and Heath share a look that I can't quite decipher, but it's not entirely sympathetic. Heath dragged himself home from his girlfriend's house after Luke called him.

My friends found me crumpled on my bedroom floor, sobbing so hard I couldn't catch a proper breath. Luke checked my vitals because, for a second, he thought I might actually be having some kind of cardiac event.

It's what it felt like. My chest ripping itself open and my heart wringing itself out.

Between the key, the goodbye note, the folder of drawings, and the state I was in, it didn't take him long to piece together what happened.

Now I'm on the couch because Heath basically carried me here. He leans against the doorway with a cup of coffee in his hand, and Luke is sitting in the armchair opposite me.

"Well," Luke says, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Yeah, dude. What did you really expect?"

I blink at him, then at Heath.

"What?"

They share another look, silently communicating before Luke sighs.

"We've been wanting to say something for a while."

"I'm calling Stephanie," Heath says, placing the phone to his ear.

I frown. "You have my sister's number?"

"We play World of Warcraft together… hey, Steph," he says, before placing the phone on speaker.

"For the last fucking time," Stephanie's voice comes through, bored and dry, "the raid is at seven⁠—"

"I'm not calling about the raid," Heath says, glancing at me. "Your brother is here."

Stephanie snorts. "Yeah, he lives there. Well. For now. Until he's in Jersey with Indie."

A strangled, horrible noise tears out of me. I fold in on myself once more, my face in my hands.

Fuck. Jersey with Indie. Not anymore. For months, I had dreamed about living that close to the beach.

Barefoot morning walks in the summer. Indie in a bikini while I stared like an idiot and felt like a King. Proposing to her on the beach.

Building a home, and a life, and loving her forever and ever.

"I want the fairy tale."

"The fairy tale?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Indie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you know. Happy ever after and all that. I never thought it existed."