Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I didn’t want to betray his trust. And he said he knows she’s not real. I don’t think it’s true hallucinations, but…what the fuck do I know? I love him, Rhett, and I’m doing my damn best here. You don’t think I’m beating myself up enough? This is a waste of fucking time. I need to find East.”
I head for the door, but I’m stopped by Dusty’s calm, steady words. “Wait. Don’t go yet. We need to figure out a plan here. Rhett, you need to tell your dad it was you.”
“Fuck him. I’m not talking to him.”
“Not even to save your brother?”
“I’ll go to the police station and tell them, but I’m not talking to him.”
I sigh. “You’re going to go to the police station and admit to breaking into someone’s house?”
“I’m not an idiot, Archer. I know what I’m doing.” Rhett crosses his arms, and I don’t have it in me to argue.
Dusty says, “Okay, Rhett will take care of the breaking and entering. The three of us need to find East. Do you have any ideas where he might be? He’s not at the shop.”
Something sparks in my brain, a lit match coming to life.
It’s what he was doing that first night I found him in the woods.
“Shit. I think I know where he is. I found him at a campsite a few years back. It’s…important to him. He’s there. I know he is.” Because even though that’s not where Ella died, he goes there to be close to her.
“At Birchwood?” Morgan asks.
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“We took them there…me and Rhett. Not long before Ella died. Dad was supposed to go, but he didn’t. We were going to cancel, but they were so upset that we went ahead with it. Rhett and I…” Morgan looks at his brother.
“We agreed to get along for that trip. We tried to put all our issues aside so we could give the twins a good time. They loved it…they were happy. Do you remember Ella with the butterflies? They were everywhere. I swear we saw hundreds of them that weekend. She would chase them, and East would chase her.”
“He did anything she wanted, all the time. He just wanted to make her happy.” Morgan swipes at a tear rolling down his face. “It was the last thing we did together before…”
“Let’s go,” I tell them. “We’ll deal with the police later.” It’s the right decision, having his brothers there. Something inside me tells me that. East needs to feel loved, needs his family because he’s felt so damn alone since losing Ella.
Without another word, we all head for the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Easton
I can’t stop folding butterflies. There are hundreds of them around me, on the ground, in the dirt, flying away when the cool wind blows.
It’s a lot colder than it was yesterday. How was that really just yesterday? It was warm and perfect. Archer was warm and perfect. He always is.
When I hear footsteps crunching on leaves, I know it’s him. I don’t even look up, just continue to sit there in the dirt. “She won’t talk to me anymore, Arch.”
He walks over, kneels beside me, finger beneath my chin and angling my head so I look at him. “Dusty, Rhett, and Morgan are with me. Is that okay? They were worried about you too. They love you too.”
I can’t explain it, but some of the weight in my chest eased when I saw Archer, and now even more that I know they’re here. I’m not alone. They’re here with me, just like Ella has been trying to get to happen for years. She’s always trying to get me to talk to them, to open up to them, but I never believed it’s what they wanted. Maybe I was wrong.
I nod, the silent answer the only one I can give before Archer sits down beside me, pulling me into his arms, between his legs, and holding me so damn tight, I can hardly breathe.
“She won’t talk to me anymore…she doesn’t think I need her anymore, but I do. Or at least, I want to. I don’t know how to be me without her. I promised her I would always need her.” But now I need Archer too. There are so many things I need, so many things I want.
“She’s with you, sweetheart. She’s always with you.”
Those words bring me comfort. Even though in my head I always knew that’s true, my heart has a hard time believing it. “That’s what she said last time. The night you all came over.” I look up at my three brothers, standing a good distance away from us, giving Archer and me space.
They’re here, and that matters. It means something. They’re my brothers even if we don’t know how to be good at it yet. They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t love me like Archer said.