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“He earned it.” I laid my head against hers as we sat together in silence until Jax stepped into the room, and his face crumpled the second their eyes met.
Jax sat on her other side and pulled her into a fierce hug. His shoulders shook with the force of his tears. I got up and walked over to his other side and wrapped my arms around him as tears pooled in my eyes.
We’d lost someone irreplaceable, but we still had each other.
Piper was the first to stand, and she looked around the room for a final time. “It’s surreal to leave this behind.”
“Is there anything you want to take?” I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her head.
She nodded, breaking free, and picked up a large jar Marcus had filled with countless rocks over the years. No one knew how he got into it, but he never went anywhere without grabbing one.
Piper turned it in her hands before facing Jax and me. “I’d like to make a stop before we head home.”
* * *
Goose bumps ran up the side of Piper’s neck as she stood at the cliff’s edge. Memories of how different our lives had been the last time we were here flowed through my head as Jax and I flanked her.
She opened the lid to the jar and made a quiet, pained sound before emptying its contents over the edge. “I miss you, Marcus.”
Jax wrapped her up in a hug and led her toward the car, but I stayed, still looking over the water at where ice clung to the steep banks. My eyes burned, and I blew out a breath, not sure how to start. “I’m so fucking sorry, Marcus. I’m sorry we fought the last time we spoke. I’m sorry I went behind your back instead of explaining to you just how much I fucking love her.” Tears froze my cheeks, and I wiped them with my jacket sleeve. “I’m sorry I didn’t take care of her for you this past year. I promise I won’t make the same mistake again.” I tossed a stone into the water and watched the small splash. “I love you, man.”
TWENTY-NINE
PIPER
I scrolled through my phone,searching through #huskieshockey, and ignored the pounding rhythm of my heart. There were countless posts of girls getting ready for the Northern Lights charity gala. They were decked out in stunning dresses, with their hair swept up and pinned in place.
Meanwhile, I was in my comfiest outfit, consisting of a pair of black leggings and one of Lucas’s oversized hoodies. I’d pulled my hair into a messy bun that flopped a little to the left and just embraced the mess that I was.
Just because I knew the gala was for a good cause didn’t mean I had to like it. Not when the main event was auctioning off a date night with a hockey player.
Even thinking about it made my stomach roll and my nails dig into my palms. It wasn’t like I thought Lucas would step out of bounds on the date, but even the idea of it made me want to break things.
I guess he wasn’t the only one with a jealous streak.
I grabbed my purse and a small blanket, all set to go to the show with Misty as soon as she got home. We decided the best way for me to survive this without going crazy was a girls’ night topped off with ice cream and a bottle of wine.
There was someone else I desperately wanted to talk to, but when I swiped my phone open, Anon13 still hadn’t answered my last three messages. Pain lanced my chest, and I blew out a breath. He’d held me together when I desperately needed someone to care, knew my darkest secrets and my deepest hopes. Even though we’d never met in person, he’d become essential to my life. What if something had happened to him and I didn’t know? His last message was so short it was like a completely different person wrote it.
I typed out another message, not caring that I looked desperate.
Me: Please message me back.
An eye indicating that he’d seen the message appeared to the left, and I waited for a reply that didn’t come. I fought back the burning in my eyes. Tonight was an absolute disaster.
The door unlocked with a click, and Misty entered with a bright smile on her face. Her eyes shone and crinkled at the side.
I raised my brows. “You look entirely too excited to watch this movie.”
“Don’t hate me, but…we aren’t going to the show.” Her smile was all teeth, and she sucked in a breath.
I tilted my head to the side. “We’re not?”
“Nope. We’re—”
She was cut off by a knock on the door and swung it open with a beaming smile. “Thank God. We have next to no time.”
Two girls came in, both trailing what looked almost like luggage cases behind them, but the squared-off edges and silver metal detail made that unlikely.
