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“I know, son. There’s got to be another reason.” He gives me a single nod and returns to the bar.
I’ve got a sick feeling I know what that reason is. I lied to her. And she was angry. Probably confused.
And wondering how I could have left knowing he was coming for her.
“She’s pretty.” Elliot is standing in his living room. But the place isn’t the way he had it before his final days. It’s fresher, cleaner. It has her touch. Like she’s already been here.
But that’s impossible.
“I know.” I say, waiting for the familiar pain of his presence to surface.
“She got a sister?”
I glare at my little brother.
He chuckles and holds up his hands. “Alright fine, a brother.”
“She doesn’t. She’s alone.”
Elliot watches me. “That scares you?”
“No,” I lie.
“You know I’m in your head, right?”
“I do. Can you see yourself out of it?”
He grins and settles into the armchair, resting his hands behind his head. “I come by invitation only, bro.”
I was afraid of that…
“Fine. Yes. I’m scared for her.”
He nods but says nothing. Instead, he looks around the space. “Love what you’ve done here.”
“I didn’t do any of it.”
“Maybe not. But you let her in.”
“Can’t take credit for that either. It was Dad’s idea.”
He laughs. “Is there anything you will take credit for?”
I stare at him.
Elliot shakes his head and stands. “I died hitting a tree head on, Chase.”
“You wouldn’t have been there if I let you—”
“Come with you?” he says like it would have been so simple.
“Into my world,” I shout. Because I’m sick of him waiting for me to say it.
He watches me blankly. Like it’s something he already knows.
I sigh, feeling like I’m waving some sort of white flag here. “Hockey was all I had, Elliot. It’s what saved me from going off the rails after mom died. It defined me. It still does. Dad’s got his wall of trophies, Levi’s the oldest, Noah’s the smartest. You were the youngest, the bravest…the sweetest.” I swallow. “What would I have if you happened to be…”
“Better than you?”
