The one Mom used to bring me to when I cried about my father not showing up. The water was still, reflecting the cloudy sky like a mirror. The trees whispered secrets to each other as a light breeze rustled their leaves. It felt like memory—bittersweet and precious.
I sat on the weathered bench, Jackson beside me, our shoulders not quite touching.
"I used to come here and make wishes," I said, breaking the silence. "I'd throw rocks and wish my dad would come home. That he'd keep his promises."
Jackson remained quiet, giving me space to unravel the tangled threads of my past.
I told him everything.
About the visits. The checks. The lies.
About how I didn't know what to feel. About how I'd thought they could have even been villains, that they'd hurt my father for his money.
"I was so angry and upset," I whispered, watching a dragonfly skim across the water's surface. "I thought they had everything while we had nothing. I didn't want to be mad at them, but I also didn't even know if they knew about me."
Jackson's hand found mine, his palm warm against mine. "And now?"
"Now I don't know what to think. They're strangers who are somehow family. They're offering to save my mom when I couldn't. How am I supposed to feel about that?"
He stared out across the pond, not having any answers for me.
"Can we even be family?" I asked, voice cracking. "After everything?"
Jackson didn't hesitate to respond. "I think you can. I think this could be something good for you." His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand. "Family isn't just blood, Elena. It's choice. And they're choosing you."
I stared at the water, then whispered, "Do you think the treatment will work?"
My voice was small. Childlike. I hated how scared I sounded, how vulnerable. But Jackson had seen me at my worst already. He'd seen me broken and desperate. He'd seen me pull the trigger. There was no point in pretending now.
He didn't lie. "I don't know. But I know Grayson and Leo wouldn't settle for anything less than the best. Not now. Not for family."
Family.
That word again.
I didn't know how to feel about it. But I was grateful. And relieved. And exhausted down to my bones.
"It's been insane," I said, watching a leaf float lazily across the pond's surface. "Ever since I found out about them… it's been one wild ride. I came here looking for help, justice, or... something. And now everything's upside down."
Jackson gave a soft laugh. "Life loves throwing curveballs. Things you never see coming." His voice dropped lower. "People you never expected to matter."
When I looked at him, he was already watching me, his dark eyes intense in a way that made my breath catch. There was something in his gaze, something tender and uncertain that matched the chaos in my own heart.
My heart thudded against my ribs.
"Where do we go from here?" I asked. "You and me. Is this… something?" I gestured vaguely between us, unable to name the electricity that had been building since that first day in the office. "Because I'm starting to feel things I'll have to crush if I want to survive this."
He clasped his hands together, like he was grounding himself.
"I've lost a lot," he said carefully. "Been burned. Literally and figuratively." His eyes held shadows I couldn't begin to understand. "But I'd like to see where this goes. If you're willing."
His voice was steady. Hopeful. The vulnerability in it made my chest ache.
And for the first time in a long time, I let myself hope too.
"I'd like that," I whispered, and when his fingers intertwined with mine, it felt like the beginning of something I hadn't known I was looking for.
26
