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She gets to be free.
“I’ll suffer this the rest of my life, Cade, because you made it harder for me. Harder to stay sober. Harder to be happy. Harder to ever feel normal again. I can’t even fucking tell anyone. I’ve got this goddamn cancer of a secret killing me inside, and you put it there.”
This hurts so much because I see it in her violet eyes. How she finally gets it. How much I suffer. And how much I’m hurting her too. I might as well kill her myself because there’s nothing left. There’s no air. No life is left between us, and I want to fall to my knees and weep at the grave of our love.
“I can’t tell you.” She barely whispers, “It’ll only hurt you more.”
A glass door slides open, and a voice pierces the air. “Cade, you okay?”
It’s her friend Penny, and her glare is aimed at me.
“I’m so sorry,” Cade mumbles. “I never meant to hurt you.”
I can’t stop it; my tear that falls. “Well, you did hurt me. More than they ever did.”
That smacks her shocked face and turns her feet, running away through my backyard before she disappears around the corner of my house while Penny storms my way.
“Listen here, you goddamn Hollywood motherfucker!” She’s gonna pull her gun. Here it comes. “Quit breaking her heart! It’s enough. You’ve done it too many times, and there’s almost nothing left of her. Don’t you see that?”
By the time Penny’s steps from me, she screeches to a halt at my tears, too. She can shoot me. It’d probably hurt less than this. And it’d be a lot faster than the life I have to live without Cade.
“Look.” Penny grabs a breath. “I’ll handle this case. I’ll update you and your sister. Deal with me, not Cade. This is hurting you both.”
“Okay.”
Penny searches my eyes, and I don’t care. I’m a grown man who loved a woman so much the world can watch me weep over losing her.
“Give it time.” Penny looks very pregnant and very compassionate. “Pain is a season that’ll pass.”
“Thank you.”
That’s all I can say to her kindness. She’s Cade’s best friend, and I don’t mind her chewing my ass out. But I’m not wrong. She has no idea what Cade did.
“Will you excuse me, please?”
I disappear through the door to my bedroom, pick up my guitar, and pluck away at a song I need to learn to play. To stay sane. Because I didn’t mean what I said, that last part to Cade.
Fuck, I need to take it back.
Those three men hurt me. Cade didn’t. All she did was love me so I could survive it.
Everyone leaves, and through my strums, starts, and stops, I hear silence fall over the house. Finally, I can eat alone. I don’t feel like talking to anyone. Sneaking into the kitchen, I try to be quiet. I don’t even turn the lights on. I’m searching for something in the walk-in pantry when the lights slam on, and Scarlett’s at the threshold with her gun drawn.
“Shit!” She groans. “It’s you.” I think I just pissed myself, but I appreciate her stealthy approach. “Sorry, I thought you were in for the night.”
“I was hungry.”
“Didn’t mean to scare you.” She holsters her weapon. “I was getting ready to leave, then I heard a noise.”
“I’ll live.” I set the soup can back. I’m not hungry now, but I’m curious. “How do you know Cade?”
Scarlett’s eyebrows flick up like she doesn’t want to answer. But she works for me, and I should know these things.
“I dated her friend, Jameson, for a hot second before I moved to Atlanta. Then, I helped her that day. The day she found you.”
Holy fuck. I had no idea.
“How bad was it? I mean, for Cade?”
