“Why are you even here?”

His eyes are still darting around the house, and I realize it’s more of an appraising look than one of paranoia.

“I’m here for Alex and Tinley. All of this has been hard on them.”

He huffs. “So, you’re here to save the day? Always the fucking hero. Looks like nothing has changed.”

I tilt my head in confusion. When we were friends—if you can even call us that—I was just as wild, just as willing to do stupid shit for a thrill. I never thought I’d be accused of having a hero complex.

“I understand you sniffing around my sister, but Alex—” His eyes rove over my face and I see the moment he realizes that Alex is my son.

I’m floored that he didn’t know. Did Tinley keep the paternity a secret from him, too? I know they aren’t close, but still. They’re siblings.

“You motherfucker.” He leans in closer, his words coming out on a hiss. “You fucked my sister?”

“Cooper,” I sigh. “Now isn’t the time to get into all of that.”

“You knocked her up and left her to fend for herself?”

If I wasn’t able to see how easily he’s working himself up, I’d respond, but it’s clear the man is about to blow his top.

This protective display is misplaced. I can remember him being pissed his parents and sister were moving to town. He only cared about his place in the house, his ability to manipulate his grandmother and get what he wanted. As teens, I thought it was awesome. All it took was a few words and a sad face and his grandmother was willing to give him money for just about anything. She’d hand over the keys to her car without question, and that was how we got around town more times than not back then. The family moving in would put a stop to that, and Cooper hated them for it.

“Listen,” I cajole. “We’ll have time to talk about all of this later, but I think—”

“You think? I don’t give a fuck what you think! I want you out of the goddamn house!”

“Now isn’t the time, Coop.”

My own anger is spiking, but unlike Cooper, I’m not high and haven’t been abusing drugs since puberty.

“Cooper?”

The man spins around, and the sight of Tinley’s face makes him disappear from my consideration completely.

Jesus, Brooke is gone. I know it the second I see her. I never knew what heartbreak really looked like until this moment. The pain in her features is palpable. Then I hear Alex crying.

Chapter 18

Tinley

I rub small circles on Alex’s back as he cries quietly. I’ve stopped worrying about my own tears and how they’ve been falling for hours and soaking my shirt. As we talk softly to Mom, her breathing growing more and more ragged with each passing second, I still continue to pray for a miracle even when I know there isn’t one to be had.

I knew this day was coming. I knew it was coming fast, but knowing it’s here is killing a small part inside of me. I know parents don’t want to outlive their children. Her leaving this world first is how it’s meant to be, but I never thought thirty-one years was all I was going to get. My grandmother passed away when I was twenty-one. Mom got forty-five years with her mother. I feel like I’m being short-changed, and Alex is really getting shafted.

“Shh,” I whisper when Alex’s breathing hitches.

I’ve never witnessed someone die before, never seen the moment someone took their very final breath, but it’s nothing like I expected. There is no shuddering breath nor one final gasp indicating she’s trying to hold on just a little longer. Her breathing just stops, there one minute and gone the next, her body seeming to melt into the bed, relaxed and finally at peace.

“Sh-She’s g-gone?” Alex asks, his hand holding hers tighter.

“Yeah, buddy,” I answer, knowing that my world just got a little smaller.

Alex swallows, his eyes still glued to her face, and I’m torn on what to do. I hate his final memories of her are going to be watching the remaining color drain from her face, that he’s watched her slowly wither away from the vibrant active woman she was into someone most people wouldn’t recognize if they hadn’t seen her in the last couple of years while cancer, chemo, and radiation took its toll on her body.

He deserves more. I deserve more.

Life keeps kicking us in the gut, too often to even get fully on our feet before the next blow comes. When will it be over? When will we be able to finally take a breath without the worry of the world imploding? Probably never, and that’s the soul-crushing reality of the life we have.

“You think? I don’t give a fuck what you think! I want you out of the goddamn house!”

Tags: Marie James Blackbridge Security Erotic
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