When I opened them, he was gone.
I turned, looking around me and towards the building. I knew I hadn’t heard the door open and close, so he couldn’t have gone inside. He had to be out here somewhere, but he wasn’t.
He had vanished like the seeds of a dandelion blown into the air. Floating, wandering, lost…never knowing where they might land.
???
Caelan
I couldn’t believe I’d just said that to Sutton.
You’re an even better muse.
What. The. Fuck?
Clearly I was drunker than I thought and it had given me loose lips, which was unusual since alcohol seemed to spike my anger instead of turning me into a chatterbox.
As soon as her eyes closed, I’d slipped away like a coward, too afraid to face what was right in front of me—that there might be someone worth living for if I let her in.
I shook my head roughly back and forth, wishing I could dislodge my thoughts.
Shoving my hands in my pockets I walked as fast as my feet could carry me. Away from Sutton, away from my problems, away from everything that made my thoughts venture down a different path than I’d been on for the last five years.
I was beyond being saved, and being around Sutton gave me a false feeling of hope because she made me tick. The anger I felt towards her when she pissed me off wasn’t comparable to the anger I felt towards others.
Rounding the corner, Kyle’s white car came into view. It was the same car he’d had since we were in high school. I didn’t know why the idiot was still friends with me. I certainly didn’t make it easy for him. I had pushed everyone away after my family’s murders, but Kyle wouldn’t go down without a fight. So the stubborn ass and I were stuck with each other. In a way, I was glad I still had him. He was the only person in my life now that knew what had happened, what I’d been through, and remembered the guy I had been before.
I wasn’t a good person then though.
I hadn’t loved my parent’s the way I should have. Always grumbling about them wanting me home and how they kept me from my real life.
Cayla and I had been close, but we’d still argued a lot, and I’d thought of her as my annoying little sister.
I’d been a cocky jock and expected everyone to bend to my will.
I’d give anything to go back and redo those moments.
But life doesn’t have a rewind button. We’re stuck with our decisions, our regrets, our fears—they’re always there. They shape and define us into the people we become.
Unfortunately, mine had sent me down a destructive path.
And now, I was worse than I ever was.
???
Sutton
I pulled my hair back into a messy bun, securing it with a hair tie.
I had on comfy jeans and a tank top with a flimsy sweater thrown over top. Working at Griffin’s had its perks—like not dressing up. In fact, when working the night shift, I got the impression Griff wouldn’t have cared if we showed up in our pajamas.
I said goodbye to Brutus, making sure he had enough food in his bowl, and headed out the door. I hadn’t heard Caelan return home, but with all the bumps and creaks in this old building, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he was back, slaving away over a canvas and I just hadn’t noticed.
His beautiful paintings had stayed with me. I couldn’t believe that someone so angry and volatile could create something so beautiful. I was still curious about who Cayla was. I wanted to ask Daphne, but I didn’t feel like I knew her enough yet to trust her to keep quiet about my question. Google didn’t procure any viable responses—which I figured it wouldn’t—and I wouldn’t dare ask Caelan about the name he uttered. He’d probably kill me and chop my body into tiny pieces in his bathtub.
Slinging my purse over my shoulder, I left a meowing Brutus, and headed to work.
Griffin was already gone, and I was working with Emery tonight. Griff partnered me up with Emery a lot. I wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t quite trust me yet and thought Emery would keep tabs on me, or— I wasn’t going there.