With a love that thewingèdseraphs of Heaven
Coveted herand me.
-Edgar Allan Poe, “AnnabelLee”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Kylie
The year after my father diedwas thedarkest year of my life, and Devin was the silver lining. Because every storyhas a hero; Devin O’Leary was mine. And without him, there was nobody to savemy heart, and so, the first full day with him absent from my life, was worsethan that entire year combined.
Myplane landed at six in the morning and I went straight to work from theairport, determined to let life continue the way it does after tragedy. I didmy makeup. I did my hair. I tied my apron tight and held my head high as I tookthe orders and made the coffee. Jealousy didn’t scorch my heart at the sight ofBrooke’s engagement ring and I even smiled when Trent came in.
“Hey!”He hurried behind the counter and engulfed me in his big arms, moresimilar toDevin’s than I ever realized before and I foughtmyself from burrowing into his chest. I stepped back, resisting temptation, andsmiled up at him. “How was your trip down the East Coast?”
“Oh,it was awesome,” I half-truthed.
“How’sDev? I haven’t heard from him in a while.”
Myheart ached as my shoulders shrugged. “He’s fine. Busy.”
“Hedidn’t even call me back when I tried telling him we’re engaged,” he said,noticeably let down, and I shrugged again.
“Hejust doesn’t have a lot of time right now,” I said, trying to brush it off by walkingaway.
“Maybeyou could tell him—”
“Trent.”Brooke hurried out from the back, with her purse slung over her shoulder. “Shedoesn’t want to talk about Devin.”
Helooked taken aback. “What? Why?”
“Idon’t know, but something obviously happened and she’s not telling me what itis.”
Heturned to me. “What happened?” he asked, as though I’d give him the responsethat I wouldn’t give his fiancée.
Ignoringhim, I hurried from behind the counter, grabbing a book from a table to putback on the shelf, but Trent stalked after me with persistence.
“Whathappened with Devin, Ky?” he asked again, and I shook my head.
“Nothing,”I lied, sliding the book onto the shelf. “I just don’t know why these peoplecan’t put the books back. They can at least show me that kind of courtesy, youknow?”
“Seewhat I mean?” Brooke said from the counter, helpless and concerned.
Trentshook his head. “Hey,” he said to me. “Kylie.” I turned to look at him withoutreplying. “Look, I’m saying this in the nicest way possible, because I’m yourfriend, okay? But I hate this ‘keep shit to myself’ crap you’ve done forever,you know that? I fucking hate it.” I tried to get around him in the nook ofbookshelves, but the space was too damn small, and he caged me in. “Hey! Listento me! Do you remember that night your dad died?”
“God,Trent …” Brooke groaned from the counter. “Don’t do this.”
“Screwyou,” I gritted through my teeth. “Let me go.”
Heshook his head, standing his ground. “You scared the shit out of us that night,do you know that? We called Devin because we didn’t know what else to do. Younever talk to anybody, Ky. You force yourself to deal with shit alone when youdon’t have to. I don’t understand why you do it, but I’m telling you right nowthat if something happened withmycousin, I want to know about it. Youdon’t have to deal with it alone. We’re here, if you need us, and—”
AndI surprised the living hell out of him, and myself, when I wrapped my armsaround his waist. I collapsed against his chest, the tears spilling from myeyes with a torrential force.
“Kylie… shit,” he muttered as his arms circled around me, turning his head to look atBrooke as she rushed towards us. Her hand was on my back, rubbing gently inslow circles.
“I’msorry,” I cried.
“Honey,what happened?”
