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“Yeah, I guess losing my heart really doesn’t count for much. It’s time for you to go.”
“So you’re going to go be with Kicks? Is that the situation?”
“I’ll let you know what I decide to do when I’m ready. Now, if you won’t go, I will.”
I moved to walk around him and out of the house, and he reached out to grab my arm. I yanked it back out of his way, my movements quicker than normal. I wasn’t sure if it was some new change about to set in or desperation, since in my heart, I still never wanted to hurt Duncan.
Either way, it seemed to surprise him as well. I used it to my advantage.
“I wouldn’t touch me if I were you.” I could see him weighing my words, but I didn’t bother to wait around for the verdict. I left him in my cottage alone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Night, Piper.”Charlie walked over to me, hugging me.
I tried to hug him back without letting my hands touch him.
He backed away from me, a little frown on his face. “Piper, do you not love me like you used to?”
I knelt down, fighting the urge to pull him to me as my eyes burned. “Why would you say that? I love you more than I love myself, and that will never change.”
“You don’t hug me like you used to,” he said, his eyes glassy.
“You’re right, but it’s not because of you. My hands have been feeling weird lately.” My chest was feeling weird too, like it was going to shrivel up and die if I couldn’t make him feel better.
“Weird how?”
“Justsensitive. They’ll get better, though, and it has nothing to do with you. Look, I’ll just hug you even more with my arms, okay?”
I pulled him to me, still conscious of touching him with any part of my hands, and squeezed him with my forearms. “See? I love you so much I could squeeze you to death.”
He giggled in my ear, helping soothe the pain his words had built in my chest.
I let him go. “You believe me?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Okay, then go up to bed. You’ve got school tomorrow.”
Widow Herbert appeared as Charlie’s feet hit the stairs. “Children are resilient. He’ll be okay,” she said.
For some reason, her being here, saying that, made it impossible to hold on to the tears. Worse, all I wanted to do was to hugher, and I couldn’t, because her body wasn’t really here. It made what Charlie said sting even worse.
I dragged an arm over my face, trying to keep some composure about me.“Where’ve you been?” I asked, trying to not sound accusatory.
“I can visit, but this isn’t really where I’m meant to be.”
No, it wouldn’t be. Jaysa?HerI could see being stuck, maybe even happy wandering this world. Widow Herbert would want to move on to better things.
“Will you keep visiting?” Maybe it was selfishto want to keep dragging her back here, but I felt like someone drowning. I didn’t know who to lean on, who to trust.
She walked closer to me, looking as if she would’ve laid her hand on my shoulder if she could’ve. “Yes. I’ll come back.”
Even as she was telling me, I was afraid to let her go. What if she left and couldn’t get back?
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what’s the right move. Do I stay here? Do I uproot him again?” I slumped into a chair, dropping my head into my hand, hoping she’d tell me what to do, because I was at a loss.
Her face dropped as she said, “I can’t make that choice for you.”
