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“You were?”I gasp, my eyes open wide with surprise.
He simply nods.“That’s why I didn’t come to see you.I was falling apart at the seams.You needed a rock, and I was anything but.”
“So you didn’t hate me?”I mumble.But I actually need him to hate me.To loathe me and reject me for everything that happened to her.
“What was that?”Sanford asks, his eyes searching my face.
“I thought ...I thought you blamed me,” I whisper, the words escaping like bitter ashes from a volcano on the verge of eruption.“I thought you couldn’t face me because I had failed to protect her.”
Sanford taps the book.“There’s not much you could’ve done under those circumstances, Grey.And yet, it’s clear you were ready to give up your life for her.”
“They shattered her to the point where she couldn’t see any light.She left us for good,” I murmur more to myself than anyone else.“If we’d been there for her, we could’ve reminded her that she was the light.Our sun.The brightest star in our universe.”
I barely get a chance to process these thoughts when Lang storms into the cottage.
“This better be good,” San growls, his eyes shooting daggers at Lang.
“We think we’ve located the person who gave the manuscript to the publisher,” Lang announces.
Lang and Sanford engage in a heated argument.I don’t completely tune them out, but I’m lost in my own thoughts.Do I want to know who had the audacity to tell a story that doesn’t belong to them?
“...You two saved her from her mother and a miserable childhood.”Lang’s words slice through the haze in my head, pulling me back into the conversation.I don’t recall reading anything about us in that sense.
“Why didn’t you want us to read that?”I glare at Lang.
Lang simply shrugs.“You lived it.I didn’t see the need to subject you to reliving it through words.I was saving you time.”He glances pointedly at his watch.“So, are we going, gentlemen?I’m hoping to get there first thing in the morning.”
For a fleeting moment, an overwhelming desire to flee the cottage washes over me.To walk straight into the depths of the lake and remain there forever.But before that, I want to know if she left a letter, a message, anything.If ...I just need to see her one more time, even if it’s in the form of her last words.
“Perhaps this person still has the diary.I’d like to read the real one.It might be good for us,” I mumble.
The walkto the private airstrip is a blur—a whirlwind of fear, dread, and an unyielding ache in my chest.Then, there’s an insatiable need to see those last words before ...I don’t know what I’m going to do after that.The small, quaint town of Luna Harbor zooms past us like a delicate watercolor painting, basking in the warm glow of the setting sun.As we approach the landing strip, my heart hammers against my ribs, each thump echoing my increasing anxiety.
A buzz from my phone interrupts the chaos, and when I glance at it, a flood of texts greets me.
Piper:Do you want me to go with you to NYC?
Zeke:Call me.This can’t be easy.I can go with you to NYC if that’s what you need.
Mom:I love you.Remember that you’re worthy of love, and you have a family that will be there for you.Think of the happy times.There are many.
Pa:I’m here for you.
Dad:We love you.Please reach out if this gets to be too much.
I stop reading all the texts from my family and swallow hard.The knot forming in my throat is choking me.Their words are like ropes thrown down to me as I fall into a hole.They’re trying to rescue me, but I might be too weak to reach out to them.At this moment, I have to focus on breathing.Inhale, exhale.
San takes my hand, squeezing it gently, and places a tender kiss on my cheek.“Lean on me, please,” he implores.
But that’s the thing, he’s the last person I want to rely on.Back when I needed him most, he wasn’t there.I ...don’t know how to get past the memories, the resentment, and the fact that we lost her.
As I climb into the plane, the knot in my stomach tightens, constricting my every nerve.I don’t know what will happen after this or if I’m strong enough to endure it.
ChapterTwo
Greyson
The silenceof the private jet engulfs me, the droning engine a dull hum against my thoughts.Swallowed by a cloud of my own introspection, I barely notice as Sanford and Lang retreat to the office at the rear of the cabin.
