He never said anything, never even turned around to look at me. I kept waiting for him to say something, grow impatient, or say Fuck this shit, I’m out. But he never did.
We walked together like that until we reached the entrance to my family’s shop.
The quiet between us was palpable, and it wasn’t comfortable. He stopped walking and stood beside the tandem truck that blocked the dirt road leading to my house.
I could feel his massive body tense as I walked past him, could feel his eyes tracking me as I crossed toward my house. But like him, I kept walking and didn’t look back.
The porch light came on as I stopped at my front door. The wind howled, and I wanted to look back so badly to see if he was still there.
Forget about him. Eyes on the prize, girl.
I grabbed the keys under the flowerpot, pushed the key in the lock, and opened the front door. I stepped inside, closing it quietly behind me so I wouldn’t wake up my dad.
The house was asleep. The only sound I heard was my dad’s soft snoring and the white noise the electric fan made.
I should go to bed, call it a day, but I leaned my forehead on the door instead. Something was screaming at me to do something. I wasn’t sure what.
Damn it.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. He was almost at the entrance of the shop. He must have heard me because he stopped, and slowly, he turned around. Looked at me for a moment.
I couldn’t see his eyes because of the distance, but I knew they weren’t indifferent anymore. I wished I could see his eyes. I wished I knew what he was thinking, what he was feeling. I wished this day had never happened.
And I wished he would never forget.
Because as much as I wanted to, I knew I wouldn’t.
Before I could decide what to do, he turned his back to me and walked away.
Chapter 13
Kara
The next day, I felt like I had a hangover.
The birds outside my bedroom window were competing for which of them could destroy their voice box first and, unsurprisingly, couldn’t give a rat’s ass if they woke me up from a dream I could barely remember now.
I was contemplating throwing a pillow outside to shut them up and go back to sleep, but the knock on my door squashed that plan.
“Kar?” It was Dylan. “Dad said it’s time for church. You’re not up yet, so I’m going to use the bathroom first, okay?”
I heard the words, but they didn’t register in my brain. Everyone in my household knew my brain was in sleep mode until I had my coffee.
I got up, groaning at the slight dizziness I felt. What the hell? I hadn’t even drunk alcohol last night, but I had a slight headache and my tongue felt furry and gross.
Eyes closed, I grabbed my bath towel and walked to the door, squeaking when I stepped on an empty can of beer. Oh, will you look at that. I guess I drank last night after all.
Funny how some things you just choose to forget, I thought as I made my way to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee. Like last night. I almost didn’t remember what had happened last night.
Almost.
At the first sip, I felt like I was out of solitary. At half a cup, I had shed my jail clothes. At a full cup, I was out of prison. Perfect. Brain activated. I poured another cup.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
I had just noticed my dad at the stove, cooking something that smelled like eggs. He and Dylan had taken over cooking duties in the kitchen since I tend to burn everything.
“Morning, Dad. I’m going to shower.”