"You haven't told them about me, have you?" I shoot back. "Is Jax her only relative who knows about me?"
"That's how it has to be." He's unyielding. This is obviously not a subject that's up for discussion.
"Don't you think they should decide?" His unwavering stance is annoying. I want to meet them. I want them to see what I'm doing with her heart. I want them to know the life I'm building.
"I don't discuss her with them anymore." I can see the vein in his neck throbbing.
"What? Why not?"
"I killed her, Sadie." He says through clenched teeth. "I killed Coral."
Chapter 7
It's as though the words float through the air. I can't grasp them. I can't get my hands around them or my brain to absorb them. My mother said Coral died in a car accident. He didn't kill her. He couldn't have killed her.
His head is resting in his hands. I can see his measured, heavy breaths. I don't know what to say. I can't speak.
"I was driving." The emotion in his voice is thick and transparent. "I was driving the car."
"It was an accident." I reach to touch his back and he flinches. "My mother said it was an accident."
He nods his head slowly. "There was a truck. It came out of nowhere. I didn't stop in time."
"You didn't kill her," I whisper softly as I rest my head against his. "It was an accident."
His eyes dart up and meet mine. His gaze is heavy, dark and intense. I see a flash of something obscure. "It was my fault. I was careless."
"Accidents happen, Hunter." I run my hand down his back. I want to comfort him. Despite the past few days I want to cradle him in my arms and help take his pain away.
"I only had my driver's license a few weeks." He takes in a heavy breath to quiet the tremor in his voice. "She wasn't wearing a seat belt. She was sitting next me."
I move my hand to his shoulder, pulling him in closer to me. "You couldn’t have known."
"I was looking at her. She was laughing. I didn't see the truck." His face is wet with tears. "It was over in an instant."
I reach for his hand and grab hold of it. I want to shield him from this pain. I can see how it's worn on him for so long.
"We were both okay but Coral." His body shakes with sobs. "She wasn't there. She went through the windshield."
My breath catches in my chest. I can feel my heart pounding. Coral's heart. The heart she lost that day. "I'm so sorry," I whisper.
He stands abruptly, pushing my hands from his body. "She was just there. Her body was there. Coral wasn't there."
"It must have been horrible," I mutter.
"Horrible?" he snaps at me. "Horrible? It was fucking disgusting, Sadie. So much blood. Her eyes vacant and empty. Christina in the back seat screaming. I'll never forget the smell, the sounds. I'll never forget."
I sit silently. I know why he searched for me now. He feels responsible for her death. He wanted to make sure I was taking care of the only thing left of her. "I think I should go." I start to stand.
He crumples to the floor next to the couch. "I'm not a monster. Don't go."
I fall to my knees. I can't walk away. I can't leave him like this. He's bared so much. He's given me so much today. How can I abandon him?
"Hunter, let me help you." I pull myself onto his lap so I'm facing him. "Let me take the pain."
He greedily pulls my body into his. The sobs coursing through him reverberate through me. "Don't leave me. I need you."
I reach to cradle his face in my hands. I search his eyes. All I see is deep regret and pain. "I'm not going," I whisper.