Page 199 of Wild Embers
CRACK!
“You hurt me!”
CRACK!
“I hate you!”
CRASH!
Unable to lift the sledgehammer anymore, the handle falls from my grasp with a thud. My breaths are fast and shallow, fatigued from labor.
The headstone lies before me in pieces.
I drop to my knees, my last words to my father thick in my throat.
“You don’t get to exist in my world anymore, Landon Jennings. I won’t let you or your memory haunt me anymore.”
I don’t realize tears are streaming down my face until the wind chills the streaks.
My shoulders shake. Not from the cold, but from the sobs wracking my soul.
I cry for the little girl who didn’t know any better.
For the girl who thought she was tainted.
Walker kneels behind me and kisses the top of my head, encircling me in his arms. “You did good, Baby Girl. You did good.”
Levi kneels on my right, wiping my tears. “He’s gone, Butterfly. He doesn’t get to take up space in your life anymore.”
Santiago takes the spot on my left and brushes my hair out of my face. “Estoy tan orgulloso de ti, miCielo.”I’m so proud of you, my Sky.
I close my eyes and let myself lean into them.
For years, I believed healing meant forgetting—that one day I’d wake up and the thought of Landon simply wouldn't hurt anymore.
I was wrong.
Healing isn't pretending the past never happened. It’s refusing to let it decide who I become.
The little girl buried beneath years of fear isn’t forgotten tonight.
But she finally doesn't feel alone.
Snow settles over the shattered pieces of granite, slowly covering the lie carved into the stone.
Somehow, it feels less like an ending and more like the first page of the rest of my life.
CHAPTER 49
BLAKE
For the last week, I’ve barely seen daylight. Apparently, grief and oil paint make excellent roommates.
Every morning, I disappear into my studio, and every evening, one of the guys has to practically drag me away from my paints.
Somewhere between canvas number eight and canvas number twelve, my heart finally unclenched.
So tonight I think I’m done hiding.
