AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I knew it was coming, yet I wasn’t prepared for it. How was that possible?
I made my way back to my car in complete shock. I checked my phone as I drove out of the parking lot. Tanner still hadn’t tried to contact me. My heart ached. I wanted to be there for him, to hold him. I wanted to tell him everything would be okay.
I dialed him again. No answer.
Tanner
My phone buzzed all day, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer it. I didn’t want to tell Charlotte. I didn’t want to say the words. Once I said it, it would all start happening. Funerals. Black suits. A hearse. I wasn’t ready for any of it. I thought I would be, but I wasn’t. Not since we’d returned from the hospital with one less family member.
Chase locked himself in his room. I wanted to do the same, but my father’s last words resonated in my mind: You put your family before yourself, and we wouldn’t have survived without you. Mom needed me. Khloe needed me, too. She needed to see that our family would be okay. So, I buried my own feelings. I was used to it.
Merritt had gone grocery shopping for us and brought pizza for dinner. I couldn’t think about eating anything until I smelled the aroma wafting out of the box. My stomach growled, and I remembered that I hadn’t eaten all day.
The four of us were eating quietly together when Chase stepped into the dining room.
“Thanks for bringing all this,” he muttered as he sat next to Merritt.
“Are you having a slice?” she asked, motioning with an empty plate.
He shook his head. “Not hungry.”
“Chase, you haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night. You need to eat something,” Mom said. I could barely look at her. It killed me to see her so dejected.
“I’ll eat when I feel hungry,” Chase snapped. Without saying another word, he walked out of the room.
“He’s just tired.” Mom always made excuses for him.
“This isn’t something he can just sleep off. Dad’s gone, and the sooner he comes to terms with that, the better off he’ll be.” I left the room with my plate before I said something inappropriate in front of Khloe.
I walked into the living room and sat on the couch. I stared at Dad’s empty recliner, reminding me that he was no longer here. I felt the hot tears return. I couldn’t be here.
I ran upstairs to my room. I had dozens of calls and texts from Charlotte. I stared at her number on my phone, blinking back the tears as scary thoughts filled my mind. She was the love of my life; she was everything I’d been searching for. What would I do if I ever lost her? How would I go on without her?
It was a fear I’d never known before. I couldn’t bear the thought of going through what Mom was going through. It would kill me—literally tear me open and rip me apart.
I needed something to take this pain away. Something to make the aching stop. I left my phone on my nightstand and dug my car keys out of my pocket.
Seventeen
Charlotte
He texted me once. Once, and then nothing after that. The text said very simply that his father had died, and that he needed to spend this time with his family. I was shocked at his reaction, at his coldness toward me. I’d been there for him when his father was sick. He’d needed me, or so I thought. Did I not say the right things? Why did he feel like he couldn’t lean on me now? What changed?
Millions of questions crowded my mind. I didn’t know what to do to make things better for him. I felt helpless. I couldn’t understand why he was pushing me away, but I had to respect what he wanted.
I told myself that he would snap out of it soon. I sent flowers and a tray of food to his house. I texted him every day, reminding him that I wasn’t going anywhere. I tried to be a part of this awful time in any way I could. Even if that meant hiding at the back of his father’s funeral.
I sat in the last row. With my scarf pulled up to my chin, I shivered in my coat. Even with the sun shining in the middle of the clear blue sky, it was no match for the bitter winter air. The funeral had already started as I craned my neck to see Tanner sitting in the front row.
I watched his expressionless face and wondered what he was thinking behind his stone-cold eyes. My heart sank when I saw Merritt sitting with them, holding Chase’s hand. I wished I could do the same for Tanner … but, he didn’t want me there.
The service was beautiful. Everyone was crying. Everyone except Tanner. When it was over, I watched as the Brooks family piled into Beverly’s car, Khloe clutching her father’s urn in her tiny hands.
Then, I headed home.
Tanner
“Let me have it if you’re not going to drink it.”
