Page 59 of Violent Skies

“It’s been a good day.” He hums. “You looked real pretty.”

“It’s nothing fancy, Birdie found it at the thrift store last weekend.” I play with the cheap white fabric and he pulls my hand into his.

“It’s perfect.” Koa kisses my shoulder as everything goes quiet for a few moments. I could stay here forever with him, where nothing is wrong, there’s nowhere to be. Just me and him.

“Hey, you know I love you, right?” he says after a breath, and I look up to find him staring down at me. He’s so handsome it hurts. Endless mischief lies in those brown eyes and he watches me like he can’t get enough of my face. I lift my fingers, smiling at the delicate ring as I brush them over his bottom lip. “More than anything,” he says, kissing the pads of my fingertips.

“Even that stupid party?” I ask him.

“Especially that,” he laughs, moving my hand out of the way and kisses me gently, his hand coming up to brush under my chin. There’s more, I know there is, because Koa never hands out compliments without a reason; there’s always a trade involved. “I have to meet Riggs and Rafe.”

“What?” I freeze, pulling back a touch.

“They called. Some shit is going down at the garage and they need help,” he tells me. The information makes me worried and pissed off all at once. There can never be just one day without this chaos and Koa is always the one having to clean up the mess.

“Do you have to?” I ask, selfishly.

“I do,” he confirms and kisses me again. “I won’t be gone long. I promise.” He stands from the step and I hang onto his hand for a moment longer as he spins away from me lazily. His eyes tell a different story than his smile. He's lying to me and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Don’t go.” I stand suddenly.

PRESENT DAY

I sit up in bed, sweaty and disoriented.

The rain beats down against the window and creates a blanket of white noise that tangles with the soft sounds of Riggs still sleeping beside me. I look down at the necklace hanging on my chest and frown. I remember that day, every second of it. I never asked him not to go. I let him, without so much as an argument and yet…

Don’t go.

“What are you doing?” Riggs clears his throat, it’s husky with sleep and his hand reaches up to tug me back down into the sheets with him. “It’s freezing in here…” He wraps his arms around me and buries his face against my side.

“Riggs?” I brush my hand into his curls and inhale him to settle my nerves.

“Mm,” he grunts.

“The wedding.” I pause as he tenses uncomfortably.

“I thought we said no ghosts,” he grunts but doesn’t look at me.

“I need to know,” I push when he doesn’t prompt me. “He left that night.”

Riggs moves finally, angling his face up. The dreary morning light seeps through and makes his usually intense blue eyes look sad and confused.

“What?”

“Koa left. He went to help you and Rafe at the garage,” I explain.

“No he didn’t,” Riggs says with conviction, shaking his head gently. “We drove to Cananea that night. I wasn’t with Rafe and we weren’t even in Arizona, Cress.”

I shift, suddenly feeling like an idiot again.

“Maybe you aren’t remembering it right?” he says gently but it stings all the same.

“It was my wedding night. I remember everything.” I snap and he groans. “Like being left on the porch to our new home, cleaning up after a bunch of drunk idiots and crawling into a cold, empty bed.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He sits up away from me and hands me a fist full of blanket to cover myself. “What did he say to you that night?”

“That you and Rafe were in trouble and needed his help at the garage.”