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“Because I survived Devil’s Edge when my cousin didn’t.”
The ledge with chipped edges as if there’d been a recent rockfall.
The white paint faded from the sun, but clearly in the shape of a body.
The smirk is knocked right off my face, and my breath punched from my belly.
He sighs, looking down and pinching the bridge of his nose. When he looks back up, he says, “You didn’t do your research.”
“I didn’t. I put my trust in you instead of the internet.” I move closer to him, risking it all since we’re close to a breaking point anyway. I can’t hold back, not with him, not ever. He’ll either be my closest ally or biggest enemy. There will never be middle ground for us. “Do you prefer I read about it online?”
“No.”
“I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. What do you want from me, Harbor?”
His hands are no longer clenched. The life that had left his eyes has returned, but the warmth that is usually there is remorse this time. “I love you, Lark.”
“I know you do, but it isn’t enough. I need answers.”
He closes the gap, not leaving room for us to exist in a purgatory of our making anymore. “Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you, but don’t make me confess like a criminal.”
Tension has escaped his muscles, leaving him in surrender. I’ve been pushed to my limits as well, but I still won’t hurt him. Not purposely.The paint. The rockfall. The wind.“Lucas slipped on the rocks? Is that how he died?”
“The truth?” he asks as if the concept is foreign to him.
I know it’s not, so this is bad. “That’s all we have left.”
His gaze slides to the side of me and then returns with a renewed mission. “He slipped. That’s what all the news articles will tell you. That’s what my family knows. That’s what I lived through. Him slipping and hitting the ledge.”
I’m lost.It can’t be that simple. Horrific,yes.An awful tragedy that Harbor survived.Most definitely. But something’s not right, something I’m not privy to—a look, a secret, a lie in his eyes. I just have to know what to ask.
The question dawns on me. The only one that makes sense to ask. My hands start shaking, knowing this could change everything for him. His haunting words come back to me. “Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you.” My heart starts racing, afraid of the answer, but I ask anyway. “How did he die, Harbor?”
“Lucas didn’t slip. He jumped.”
The answer is harder to hear than I expected. Sickness coats my stomach as I realize the mistake I’ve made with my assumption. I throw my arms around him, hugging every part of him as if I’m the glue keeping him together. “You weren’t keeping it fromme. You were protectinghim.”
I hold this man, his giant frame squeezed in my arms. When I finally let go, I step back to rest my palms on his chest. Harbor doesn’t blink, and I’m not sure he’s even breathing. He’s just standing there, staring at me, so I whisper, “No one else knows, do they?”
He shakes his head.
I take a deep breath and tears fill my eyes again, thinking how seeing me on that same cliff brought back the worst day of his life. “Oh, Harbor,babe, I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have been there had I known. I’m sorry for putting you through that again.” I lean my head against his chest, hoping, praying his arms wrap around me this time. Not for my comfort but for his, so he knows I’m here. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you. I’m here. Right here with you.”
Strong arms wrap around me, and I’ve never felt such relief and reward equally. He kisses my head, and then says, “The knot in my chest is gone.”
The lies he carried . . .
The burden he bore . . .
The secrets he swore to uphold . . .
All weighed on him, and then his aunt tortured him some more.
I kiss his chest and then under his chin. His arms don’t loosen until I wiggle enough to look up again. Searching his eyes, I return to what started it all, and ask, “Why are you the lucky one?”
“Because he tried to take me down with him.”
My stomach drops, the revelation almost too much to handle. I might not have ever had the chance to love this man. I lift on my toes to kiss him, and then he kisses each of my cheeks where the tears stream down. He says, “You’re only allowed to cry happy tears, remember?”
