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“Ellie,” I said softly. “We…we need to call someone.” Ellie blinked, but didn’t respond. She didn’t look at me and the stone already sitting in my gut grew heavier. I kept my attention trained on her, trying with all my strength not to look at Charlie. I’d seen dead bodies before, and it still haunted me. What I focused on was getting Ellie out of this room.
“El, come on. We should go.” I reached for her, but when my fingers grazed her arm she flinched away, only clinging tighter to her father’s body.
Damn it.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” I breathed. “He’s…he’s gone.”
At those words her eyes shot to mine as if just realizing I was there. Then, her tears welled. She buried her face in Charlie’s chest, a sob so broken and so helpless coming from her that it ripped my soul to shreds.
“No,” she screamed, her voice muffled but the word was clear. ”No.”
I couldn’t stop myself, every instinct my bones told me to help her. To save her. But there was nothing I could do. I reached for her, prying her away from Charlie’s cold skin and lifting her into my arms. She didn’t fight. As I hugged her to my chest she wrapped her arms around me. Her nails dug into my back as she let out her pain in horrible, broken wails.
I carried her from the room, holding her close. I wanted to take the pain away, a pain I knew so well myself. I brought her out into the sunlight, collapsing onto the front steps as she buried her face in my neck and cried. The hot wet tears ran down her cheeks and onto my skin, soaking my shirt.
I wrapped my arms around her in a desperate attempt to keep her together as she fell apart. I ran a hand over her back soothingly, though I knew it wouldn’t help.
Nothing would take away the pain of this day. Nothing would undo the tragedy. The most I could do was be there, and hope she didn’t lose herself along the way.
Charlie’s funeral was on a bright, warm spring day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as a breeze rustled the leaves of the oak trees surrounding the cemetery.
Ellie was nothing but a statue standing before the casket. During the service she’d been strong and unyielding as stone. There wasn’t a tear in sight. A decent amount of people showed up to pay their respects to Charlie. Most people in Cypress Falls had known him, even if they hadn’t seen him much since his stroke.
I watched her the entire time, mystified by her strength, but also concerned. What was going through her head? I hated that when I looked into her face, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Ellie had always been good at hiding her true emotions—something she’d learned during her years of pageanting with her mother. But I thought I knew her well enough to see past her walls.
I worried how she was going to survive this…and if I was strong enough to help her through it. I hadn’t been around her much since that day in the trailer. I’d called Atlas and he took care of everything that needed to happen as far as what to do with Charlie. It seemed like he had another massive stroke in his sleep. One that he hadn’t survived.
As if we had been called, Knox and I parted from the crowd as they started lowering the casket into the ground. We took our places at either side of Ellie. She watched the glossy box be lowered, inch by inch, into the earth.
When everything was done, she didn’t move. She stood there, staring, and we stayed by her side. We waited in silence as time passed. I didn’t know how long we stood there, but the sun had moved across the sky before Ellie finally spoke, her words barely more than a whisper. “You don’t have to stay here.”
Knox reached over and grabbed her hand. “We’re staying as long as you are.”
Ellie inhaled deeply through her nose. “I’m going to go. Just a few more minutes.”
I wanted to reach out and touch her, but she hadn’t so much as looked at me since that day and I didn’t know why. I wanted to comfort her, but wasn’t sure how.
I balled my hands into fist, swallowing hard. I glanced at Ellie, who still stared down into the hole her father had disappeared into. “What do you need, El? What can I do for you?” I opted to simply ask outright.
For the first time since I found her lying beside Charlie’s corpse, Ellie met my gaze. I almost stepped back at the look on her face—pure anger. Rage, even.
“You can leave me alone,” she snapped, her voice a razor’s edge.
Shock hit my chest. I thought we’d made it past this stage…She might not like me, but I didn’t think she hated me anymore.
“I don’t want to leave you.” I reached for her hand, but she pulled away.
She turned on her heel, stomping as she crossed the grounds of the cemetery. I met Knox’s eye and he looked just as confused as I felt. I chased after her, Knox close behind me.
“Ellie, wait,” I called, catching up with her and taking her hand. She whirled around, her face livid and blotched in red.
“I said, you need to leave me alone!” she screamed, tears streamed down her face as she looked past me to where Knox stood. “I’m sorry, Knox. I know you wanted us to all be friends again, but I can’t.” She shook her head. “I can’t do it.” She looked at me, her features hardening. “I can’t be close to you anymore.”
My breath hitched in my lungs as I stared at her. “But why? I promise I’ll be whatever you need.” Panic suddenly overwhelmed me. She’d said this to me before but…but that was before. Before the kiss that I’d never forget. “I need you in my life, Ellie.”
“You’ll be the death of me, Ty,” she spat, her words piercing right down to the marrow. “You can’t save me, so just leave me the hell alone.”
