Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“I wanted to go. You didn’t. You said we wouldn’t know anyone, but those cute guys from the deli invited us, and I wanted to go.” A hot tear rolls across my cheek. “I begged you, and you gave in because you’re my sister, and you didn’t want me to go alone.”
I choke back a sob before continuing, “It’s my fault. I never should have begged you to go to that party. We had barely graduated high school. We had no business at a college party with guys who were getting ready to graduate and that we didn’t know.”
Tension radiates off Maddox, but I can’t look at him. I can’t look at any of them, and they all remain quiet, giving me the time I need to work through these feelings that I’ve only ever spoken to Susan.
“I’m the older sister. I should have been more responsible. We never should have taken drinks from them, and I never should have left your side for a second.” I focus on breathing because I feel like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. When I’ve finally calmed my breathing, I look up to find my sister with tearstained cheeks.
“What happened that night was not your fault, Brogan. We couldn’t control that they drugged us. There was no way you could have stayed glued to my side, because they made sure of it. Should we not have been there? I don’t know. I’d like to think that they were only four years older than us. It’s not like we were hanging out with men twenty years older than us. What they did was wrong. They are the ones to blame. I hate that we’ll never know who they are. I used to hate that my daughters would never have a father, but that all changed for me in the last year. I met an amazing man who gave me the time I needed to get to know him. He gave me patience and love, and he showed me that my past does not define me, or my daughters. My babies have a daddy. His blood might not be flowing through their veins, but I know in here”—she places her hand over her chest—“and in here”—she taps her index finger against her temple—“that no man could ever love them more than he does. He showed me that there are good men out there. He gave me, you, and the girls a family. Something we’ve been missing outside of the four of us for far too long.”
I can’t stop the tears as they cascade down my cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” Briar’s voice is stern. “Don’t apologize to me. I agreed to go. If I’m being honest, I wanted to go, but I was intimidated that we wouldn’t know anyone there, but I knew that I would have you. I still have you, and you have me, but we have a group of amazing people who have chosen to be our family.”
“I don’t remember that night. I know you don’t either, and I hate that. I hate that I don’t know what they did to us. I hate that the girls will one day know and look at us differently. I hate them. I don’t know who they are, but I hate them. I don’t know what they did,” I repeat.
“We’re okay,” Briar says softly. “We’re stronger than the pain. We’ve come so far since that night.”
“I miss Dad,” I tell her.
“Me too.” Briar smiles through her tears. “He would have loved the men in our lives and our new family. I tell Forrest often that Dad would have loved him and the guys.” She turns her eyes to Maddox. “He would have loved you for Brogan.”
Maddox shifts beside me, but I don’t dare look at him. “Baby.” One word, whispered in his broken voice, has me turning my head. His eyes are haunted and glassy, as if he, too, is on the verge of tears. We stare at each other for several long heartbeats before he speaks up.
“I hate them too. I hate that they stole so much from you and your sister. I hate them because they’re holding you back from living. I hate them because you’re mine, and I can’t defend you by kicking their ass,” he says, and despite my tears, I smile.
Maddox stands and drops to his knees in front of me. He takes my hands in his, and everything and everyone else fades away. “I can’t pretend to know what you’re feeling, but I need you to know that I’m here for you. Whatever you need. If you want to cry, scream, fight, whatever you need, I’m your man. Me. I’m the man who wants to stand next to you while you fight the demons of your past. I’m the man who you can depend on. Let me be your pillar of strength until you find the strength that I know lives inside you.”