AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elliott stubbed out his smoke, then scrubbed his hands over his face. Next, his fingers disappeared into his hair, and he stared down, keeping his face mostly hidden from me.
I’d tried to be a good husband, despite entering the marriage for all the wrong reasons, but we’d been doomed from the start. We’d lasted four years, and then I couldn’t take it anymore. Piper had wanted me to quit the Coast Guard so I could be around more, and I’d already cut down on work as much as I was willing. I didn’t go on any long-term deployments anymore. I was on call and living on base for two thirty-day stints out of the year, something I didn’t wanna give up. During that time, I was still free to see my family for meals and school pickups and whatnot; I just had to get back to base at the end of the night, and I had to drop everything if we got a call.
For the remaining ten months, I was practically like any other nine-to-five worker. With slightly more uncomfortable hours occasionally.
Elliott stood up with a grunt and made a move to get back inside. “I’ve barely slept the past forty-eight hours. My brain’s shit. I gotta get some sleep.”
Was he serious?
“That’s it, then?”
He glanced back at me. “What’s the point, Joel? We can’t change anything—and you wouldn’t want to, which I totally understand. You got Blake.”
I swallowed hard, struck by the utter defeat in his expression, and before I could say anything, he left.
Motherfucker, did it have to be either-or?
He couldn’t let go any more than I could. This talk had made that clear—foronce. For once, he’d been open enough to reveal he still felt something.
I released a frustrated breath and ran a hand through my hair.
No, we couldn’t change the past, but we could rewrite our future.
* * *
Crew Finlay
“After all these years, you don’t think it’s weird my wife’s name in your phone is still The Vegan?” Dad asked.
“Why’s it weird?” Uncle Greer retorted. “If she starts eatin’ meat, I’ll change it.”
“To be fair, she eats my—”
“What the fuck!” I yelled. “That’s mymom.”
Dad turned to me and furrowed his brow. “You think I don’t remember seein’ you comin’ outta her vagina? I was almost offended on her behalf with how much you screamed.”
Oh my God.
I palmed my face and groaned.
Adrien trying to contain his laughter next to me—and failing miserably—wasn’t fucking helping.
“Two minutes!” one of the pilots yelled.
Thank fuck. I had to get out of this bird.
I wished I could sleep through the flight like Mathis and Emerson were doing closer to the back.
“Don’t be embarrassed, son,” Dad told me. “It was a beautiful birth. I loved you almost instantly.”
“Gee, thanks,” I scoffed.
He faced Uncle Greer. “Once they cleaned off the bloody goo and shit.”
“I fucking swear.” I glared at him.
Uncle Greer couldn’t stop laughing.
