She barks out a laugh, but it’s cut short from the sound of her phone ringing. Her smile slips as she studies the name that appears on her screen.
“It’s Luke.”
My heart drops, and all my senses are amplified. I can feel the heat kicking on, blowing against my feet from the vents. The lights seem brighter, flaring at the edges of my vision, as I stare at Raine. I perk up my ears to listen in on their conversation, but she holds up a finger and moves into the living room.
Something sharp twists low in my stomach. It’s not jealousy but the fact that he chosenotto call me. After everything, I thought the next move should be his. I don’t know if I’m hurt or relieved. Honestly, it could be both.
What does it say that he’d rather talk to Raine? That he couldn’t even try me first? Part of me wants to believe he’s afraid I wouldn’t answer or that he’s giving me space.
“Hey.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her face paling as she nods and hums to whatever Luke is saying, and her eyes look over at me. I’m about to mouth ‘What?’ to her, but she looks down at the floor and shifts on her heels.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” she finally says before she returns to her hums and nods. “Is there anything I can do? Yes, of course. Yeah, okay. Yeah. I will. I love you too.”
She ends the phone call and covers her mouth with her hand before letting out a shuddered breath. “What is it?” I ask, already walking toward her. She blinks a few times, lost in thought, before she looks up at me.
Her voice is strained as she says, “Davis passed away. Lukearrived at his grandma’s late last night and said they’re having a funeral for him this evening.”
“He’s at Nonni’s and just now told you?”
I look down at my phone and wait for it to light up with his name, but it never does. The news hits like ice water, numbing and impossible to process. His dad is...gone. After everything.
I should be thinking of him, of his loss, and I am. But there’s this ache I hate myself for that wonders why he couldn’t say the words to me. I want to be angry. I want to feel justified in my hurt, but all of that disappears beneath the weight of his grief.
He lost his dad, and no matter what passed between us, I know exactly where I need to be. I need to be standing by his side, even if he didn’t ask for me, even if I’m not sure he wants me there, because this isn’t about our fight or what he did or didn’t say.
This is about love. The kind that doesn’t back down just because it’s bruised.
My phone buzzes.
Luke
I just wanted to let you know that my dad passed away yesterday
Not a call. Just a text. No punctuation. No “I’m sorry” or “I need you” or even “Can you come?” Just a few clipped words from a person I know has to be quietly falling apart.
I stare at the screen like it might change. Maybe if I read it enough times, I’ll find something more beneath it, some hidden plea for me to follow, but it’s just silence.
And I can’t sit here and let him go through this alone—not when I’ve loved him for too long, even when I tried not to. This isn’t about what he should’ve done. It’s about what I will do, because I’m going, whether he asked or not.
“Yeah. He apologized and said that he kinda lost track ofeverything. I’m going to go get my things and head that way,” Raine states right as her phone buzzes. “That’s the address.”
“Wait!” I shout, rushing into my bedroom as I holler back at her, “I’m coming with you.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Luke
I’m trying to focus on anything but the wooden casket sitting in the middle of the small crowd. I look up at the sky, clear enough to see the different colors created by the fallen sun. A mixture of fading purple, light pink, and dark blues. I’d find it beautiful if my heart didn’t feel so broken.
Not many people showed up for my dad’s funeral, as I expected. It was planned at the last minute, and he didn't leave a good impression behind. It bothers me knowing that he didn’t get much of a chance to turn his life around before cancer won the battle, but who am I to judge God’s will?
I’m sandwiched between Jerrica and Mom as the funeral service ends. All that’s left to do is lay my dad to rest. Nonni walks up to give everyone some words of comfort. I see her lips moving, her hands clasped in front of her like she’s holding herself together by sheer will, but I’m not able to listen to a single word.
There’s a buzzing sound that fills my ears, cutting me off from the world around me. All I can think aboutis the last time I saw him—gray skin, thin, breathing like every inhale was a war. He looked at me like he wanted to say something more, and I think I did too. Now he’s gone, and I keep waiting to feel something sharper, something more final, but all I feel is this quiet ache. This dull, hollow throb in my chest where the anger used to live.
Jerrica nudges my arm, bringing me back to reality, and I look around, noticing that everyone is staring at me.
