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“Gabe…”
He shakes his head. “No, let me finish. She came home to tell me she was sick. She was scared. She needed me. Instead, she came home to a living room full of boxes. She was hurt — she refused to talk to me, and three weeks later she was gone.” I watch a tear streak down his face. “So before you decide you can’t forgive her, ask yourself if you want to live without her. We’re only here for a short time, man. Don’t waste it.”
I swallow so hard it hurts. “You don’t understand.”
He stands and puts a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t have to.” That’s all he says before he’s gone.
I look at Andrew, and all of my tightly wound emotions snap free. I’m shaking and crying. I look down at my son, my world, at a loss as to how to save him.
“You’ve got to wake up. Damn it. I’ll do anything.” I push myself up from the chair and cover his body with mine. “Oh, God, if you just wake up, I promise I won’t make her leave. We can be a family. Just wake up, damn it!”
But he doesn’t wake up.
He’s still and lifeless.
How can life be so cruel?
I can’t say goodbye to another child.
Chapter 29
Tori
It’s been three days. How am I going to get out of this bed and pretend I’m okay? I’m not, and I won’t be. Today is the day I’m supposed to say goodbye to a little boy that I love more than life itself. Everyone says time will heal. I wish people would quit saying that. Nothing will ever be okay.
I’ll never heal.
There is a light tap on the door. I slide the envelope under my pillow. I received the paternity results the day after the accident. I haven’t had the courage to open the letter yet. I’m not sure which result would be harder for me to hear. If Brady’s the father, I’ll be raising a child with a man who wants absolutely nothing to do with me. If he’s not the father, I’ve truly lost every last piece of him.
I’m not ready to deal with either outcome.
There’s another knock, and I finally answer. “Come in.”
“It’s me.” Liv’s voice harbors all the tension I know she feels. As she enters, she flips on the light, and I recoil as pain shoots through my eyeballs. I cover them as I look up at her.
“Hey, sweetie.” Liv sits next to me on the bed, worry marring her brow. “It’s almost time. You need to get ready.”
“I don’t want to.” I start to cry. I can’t do this.
“I know,” Liv whispers as she wraps her arms around me. “But Brady needs you, even if he’s too damn stubborn to see it.”
He doesn’t want me there. I’m not sure I’m strong enough.
“We need you there, too. You’re part of this family. Besides, Tug should be back soon with your parents, and if they see you like this, they’ll make you move back with them.”
I’d forgotten about my parents. They’re alre
ady certain I should pack my things and move back to Minn-e-fuckin-sota. I refused them. This place is all I have left of Andrew, and even if Brady hates my guts and I have to move out, I won’t go back to Minnesota.
Liv latches her arm underneath mine and starts lifting me up. “Come on. I’ll help you.”
“I’m sorry, Liv.”
She pulls me close. “No. Don’t you dare. This is not your fault.”
“It is. I’m so sorry. If I had only been honest with him from the beginning, none of this would be happening.”
“Tori Marie Hunter! Stop it, right now! You don’t know that. None of us blames you. It was a horrible accident.”
