Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Gone.
My brother was gone!
I broke then. Racking sobs tore through my body and I couldn’t stop them. Couldn’t lift myself off the cold phone booth floor. The door flew open and Leo bent down. He helped me to my feet and took me to the path. But still the sobs didn’t stop. Dylan flanked my other side, helping Leo carry me down the path and to the bus that waited for us. A familiar hand landed on my back, and I knew it was Savannah. That was my girl. Always there with a supportive touch. With her love and our shared two squeezes of our hands.
The journey back was a blur, time relinquishing itself to sadness. I couldn’t say goodbye. I just couldn’t say goodbye.
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
Not yet.
Leo and Dylan helped me from the bus into my room. They laid me down on the bed, and before my head even hit the pillow, Savannah was wrapped around me. I breathed some then. I always did when she was near. But the sobs still came. They came until no tears fell down my cheeks and the sun had given way to the moon. Leo stayed in the room with us the entire time, letting me purge everything from my soul.
He eventually got up from his seat and said, “I just need to speak to Mia. I’ll be back in a minute. Will you be okay?” I nodded my head. I couldn’t speak. My voice was lost.
When he left, Savannah immediately sat up. Her eyes were red with sadness.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” she said. “Sorry that hurt you so much.”
I stared into those blue depths and knew that if we were to have any kind of future, I needed to get better. “I love you,” I said, just as a knock sounded on my door. Mia came through, Leo following behind.
“Savannah,” Mia said, gently, “let’s go and have some dinner.”
“No.” Savannah shook her head. I wanted to smile at her tenacity, but I couldn’t muster enough energy to do it.
“You haven’t eaten,” Mia said. She then looked to Leo. “Let Leo and Cael talk some.”
Savannah opened her mouth to argue, but I said, “Go on, Peaches.” I met Leo’s eyes. The look he gave me told me he needed to speak to me about something, something I wasn’t sure I was going to like. “Get something to eat.”
Savannah searched my face. “Are you sure?” her gaze dropped. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I know, baby,” I said, sitting up and cupping her face with my hands. I kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and finally her mouth. “I’ll be okay. I promise,” I said, praying those words were true.
“Okay,” Savannah said, full trust in me. It made me feel a little stronger. She was still in this with me.
I watched her leave with Mia, heart breaking all over again, when she turned back and gave me a watery smile. When the door shut behind them, I turned to Leo. “I need that extra help when we get home,” I said. “Today made me realize just how much farther I have to go.”
Leo nodded, then said, “I suggest we leave now.”
Shock and panic instantly surged through me. “Now?” I said, jumping off the bed. “I don’t want to leave now. I don’t want to leave Savannah. I want to travel home with her and the others. See this through until the end.”
Leo came over to me, a wary expression on his face. “Son, I will never make you do anything you don’t want to do, but I worry if you see Savannah again, or stay until the end, you won’t go.” I pictured Savannah’s face, remembered her arms clasped around me, how she made me feel safe and like I could just lean on her forever … I exhaled in defeat. He was right. I knew he was right, but I just wanted to see her, one more time. I wanted to say goodbye. Make plans for when we were apart. How we would keep moving forward.
“Cael, do you love her?” Leo’s question made my head snap up and pull me from my racing thoughts.
I met his eyes. “Completely,” I replied. My voice was steady. My love for Savannah was the one thing I was certain of. Everything else had shaken me to my core. My love for Savannah was concrete.
“Then you need to leave now, son. To have any kind of future with her, you must keep going with therapy. This trip isn’t enough. Right now, you’re in a precarious place, and I’m advising we go immediately. I’ve seen what happens to people when they break and delay help.” My stomach churned. That was Cillian. I didn’t want to be like him. “Let me help you, Cael. Take my advice and let me help.”