“Will do, Pops,” he says and then stops in front of me. “You got huge,” he says, and then he looks me up and down. “You back for a visit or for good?”
“Haven’t decided yet,” I say, looking at Casey. “He grew up.” I motion to Quinn.
“Well, that’s what happens in five years,” Casey says, walking to me and stopping in front of me. “I see you found your way back home.”
“Yeah,” I say, putting my hands in my back pockets. My stomach feels like there is a roller coaster going up and down in it. “Figured I would.”
“You would make things right,” he finishes for me. “It’s been a couple of months.”
“It has.” I don’t tell him that it took longer for me to recuperate because after he left, I went into a downward spiral. I haven’t slept a full night without nightmares since I woke up, and the demons I carry haunt me every waking minute. I don’t tell him anything. “I was waiting to get my orders.”
“When do you ship out?” He looks over my shoulder at the diner.
“They didn’t give me a date yet,” I answer honestly.
“Is this the first stop?” he asks, motioning with his chin toward the diner.
“I figured it would get the gossip going,” I say. “I didn’t know that Chelsea would be here or Emily.” I want to ask how long she’s been with Drew and why she still stayed if I wasn’t here. I want to ask all the questions, but I don’t deserve the answers.
The door to the diner opens and closes, and when I look back toward the door, I see that Quinn is coming back with three bags in his hands. “Shall we go check out the house?” he asks, and I nod, but something stops me from walking forward.
“I …” I look down at my feet. “I should go and see Mom,” I say the words that have been lodged in my throat like a lump of coal.
“Ethan,” he says softly.
“She is probably going to freak out when Chelsea goes home in that state.” I shake my head. “So I might as well get the whole awkward meeting over sooner than later.”
I wait for him to say what he wants to say … to say something. He looks down and then looks up. I can see the tears in his eyes, and I’m not ready for what comes next. I’m not ready for anything he’s about to say to me. “I’m sorry, Ethan. She’s gone.”
Chapter Five
Emily
The sound of her sobs rip through her as soon as I get her in the car and close the door. “What are you going to do with her?” Drew asks, and I have to think that it’s the stupidest question he’s ever asked me.
“I’m going to take her home,” I say. “She can’t drive like that. It’s not safe.”
“This isn’t your problem, Em,” he says softly. “You aren’t even related to her.”
“Drew,” I say. “I’m going to go take her home. I’m going to make sure she is okay since Savannah and Beau had to go out of town for an event this weekend.”
“Then what?” He looks at me, and I want to tell him then I’m going to go home and finish off a bottle of wine. I’m going to call my best friend, and she is going to come over and bring another bottle of wine, and I’m going to finish that one also. I don’t tell him that I’ll probably be in the middle of the room curled up in a ball and shed all my water weight in tears.
“Then I’m going to go home and grade the papers I need to grade,” I say. “I will call you when I get home.”
“Fine.” He gives in and leans in, kissing me on my lips, no doubt making sure everyone sees, and by everyone, I mean Ethan. I get into my car and drive away at the same time Ethan walks out of the restaurant.
He’s been gone for five years, yet it feels like it was just yesterday. He is much bigger than he was; his arms look massive. His hair is cut short on the sides whereas he had it long before. He used to keep it long because I liked to run my hand through it while we laid side by side on the grass. His eyes are blue, but something about them is different, something I can’t explain. It’s a coldness, and it’s almost scary. “Why is he here?” I hear from beside me. “Why did he just show up?”
“I don’t know, honey,” I say, my own heart breaking all over again. I thought I was over him, but I was wrong. All the hatred I have for him is there, but so is all the love I felt for him. “Maybe he missed home.”
“He broke our family apart,” she says. “Mom was a mess when he left. She was there, but a piece of her was gone, and no matter how many times I tried to tell her that he would come back, I would still hear her cry when she thought she was alone. I would hear my dad hold her and tell her that he would be back. He did that. He took that from her, from me, from Keith, and from Toby.”
I don’t know why I do it. I don’t know what possesses me to say what comes out next, but I do it. “He was hurt that he was lied to. He was just hurt. You know how many times you say stuff when you are hurt, but you don’t mean it.”
“Yeah,” Chelsea says, “but after an hour, I’m sorry about it. I don’t disappear for five fucking years.”
“Chelsea,” I say her name sternly. “A lady never swears,” I say, and she rolls
