When the water ran cold, he shut it off. He grabbed a towel that Mia had most likely left for them. He bundled Belle up and carried her to the bed.
The suitcase sat on the floor with a few bottles of water, a box of tea, a few cans of soup, and a bottle of tequila. A pang stabbed in his chest. Belle had a lot of people who cared about her, whether she knew it or not.
My family is her family.
Bently pulled back the covers and laid her down gently before sliding in next to her. Silent tears leaked from her eyes as she stared off into space. She was lost in grief and devastation. Come back to me, Angel.
He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight as if he could will her back to life. If her heart was too damaged to beat, he’d do it for the both of them. He’d take care of her. He’d be here for her no matter the cost. He laid his hand across her chest, counting her heartbeats until he fell asleep.
***
Bently jolted awake. His heart raced and sweat trickled down his brow. The room felt empty. A sick feeling twisted in his chest. Where is Belle? He shot out of bed, not bothering to grab his clothes as he left the room in search of her.
He opened the door to TJ’s room and breathed a sigh of relief. She was curled up on his mattress. An old quilt lay over her. He backed out of the room and went for a pair of sweatpants that Mia had packed before going down to the kitchen.
He carried the cup of chamomile tea upstairs once it was ready. The sunlight was only starting to peek over the horizon. He walked into TJ’s room and swallowed hard. It still didn’t feel real that TJ would never enter through those doors again. He’d never smile again, or laugh.
Bently blinked away the warring emotions that rose up as he rounded the bed. Belle’s eyes were open and unfocused. He knelt by the side of the mattress, next to her face.
“I brought you some tea.” He gently caressed her forehead, tucking the mess of curls aside.
“I don’t want anything. What’s the point? He’s gone.” Fresh tears streamed from her swollen red eyes.
“You have to take care of yourself. Even though it hurts.” His voice softened and his heart broke more.
“I have no one left.” Her voice was so quiet he barely heard her.
“You have me. You’re my family now.” Didn’t she understand just how much he loved her? How much she meant to him?
A spark lit her dark eyes. Anger blazed in Belle’s pained gaze as she sat up. “You’re one of them!”
Her words were a shot to the chest. She blamed him. Because I could have prevented this somehow. Maybe. “I’m sorry—”
“Sorry doesn’t bring my brother back.” Her voice was cold and dead like she must have felt inside.
This time, his soul cracked and splintered with it. Blinding pain shot through him, breaking him apart.
“Leave me alone. I can’t even look at you.”
“Angel.” It was a prayer. A plea with the universe.
“Go, Bently. GO!” she screamed.
Bently stood, his hands itching to reach out and touch her one more time. Torment eviscerated his insides. He’d lost her for good. He’d been clinging on to a false hope and empty faith. All good things must come to an end. He should have known better than to believe he could have more. After all, he was Paul Evans’s son. The one who’d failed to protect those he’d loved. And he’d done it again.
He staggered back before he turned and ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out into the ice-cold twilight. It didn’t matter that he was still shirtless in the January morning because he was already frozen and numb inside. The tether between Belle and him cinched and tightened the farther he walked away from her. He struggled to gasp in a breath. One more step and it would snap. He’d be separated from her for good.
He took one last glance towards her duplex, the finality of it all weighing down heavily on his shoulders. He lifted one leaden foot and walked away like she’d told him to do. He clutched his chest. Searing pain slammed through him. He staggered backwards as he fell to the snow. Desolation poured over him as his heart pounded against his rib cage. The red predawn sky glowed above.
Even the heavens were bleeding.
Chapter 46
Belle
What did I just do? It wasn’t Bently she was mad at, but the system that had taken her brother from her. She was furious at the cop who had pulled the trigger. At society for fearing her smart, amazing brother who’d overcome more adversity than most of them would ever know in a lifetime, all before he was eleven years old. He had been going to save lives and change the world. Now he was a hashtag.
Belle sucked in a pained breath. Every cell in her body ached, down to the marrow of her bones. Devastation wracked her. She was locked in a prison of grief. Hot tears stung her chapped face as the weight of everything crushed her. She was suffocated by anguish, asphyxiated by anger, strangled with regret.
Could she ever live with the fact that the man she loved was a cop? That he’d vowed to uphold unjust laws that had racism pounded into their very fiber?
She gasped for air.
I just blamed him for an entire country’s fault.
And now he was gone when she needed him most. She’d pushed him away.
She let out a guttural scream and began to sob until no sound came out. She pounded her fists into the mattress. Her lungs
