Page 74 of Silent Damage

Hook.

That makes you feel like a big man?

Jab. Jab. Jab.

Well, that twelve-year-old is twenty now. Wanna try it?

Hook.

Cross.

Jab.

Jab.

Jab.

The branch breaks, and the bag falls to the ground. “FUCK!”

My body quakes with rage because I was in the zone—unstoppable.

Fucking dumbass tree branch.

I whip around, intending to march into the trailer and chug some water, when I see Gabe standing in front of the back door and watching me.

“How long have you been there?” I ask.

His chest rises and falls as he stares at me. The sun shines on his face, and he squints his dark brown eyes. He’s wearing all black, which makes his light skin look even paler.

Gabe opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

He clenches it shut and looks at the ground.

And that hurts.

But it shouldn’t. It shouldn’t matter. I’m getting out of here, so it doesn’t matter if he wants to talk to me.

“Whatever.”

I move to brush past him when his arm wraps around my torso.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

His words stop me in my tracks, and I instinctively press my hand to his arm.

We stand there. Frozen.

The heat of his breath hits the crook of my neck, and I shudder.

He tries to speak again, but a strangled squeak is all that emerges.

The leaves rustle in the wind, and the bees buzz around us. Off in the distance, a dog barks, and the smell of someone barbecuing hits my nose.

His eyes…

They can barely maintain contact with me, and I can see him swallowing—forcing down whatever is blocking the words, and the look on his face is crushing.

He finally wills himself to do it, pushing out the words in one fell swoop. “She helped you. Her support mattered, and the lie made it seem like her love was a lie, too.” His voice cracks, and tears well at the base of his eyes.