I worked out a lot.
I just sucked at hiking because I had short legs.
Excuse the fuck out of me.
It was about halfway up to the top when it happened.
“Rock,” someone called up farther ahead than us.
We all stopped, but since his sister Constance was an asshole and liked to play her music for all to hear—I hated her music, and so did most hikers that we passed—I didn’t hear where the rock was coming from until it hit me.
You’re acting weird. First of all, I’m not acting.
—Garrett to Gable
GARRETT
1 ½ years ago
“You ever done this part of the hike before?” I asked Gable.
Gable and I were in Colorado for a family vacation.
The rest of our family had come, too, but it’d only been me and Gable willing to do this hike.
The rest of them were all hiked out from the last week of hikes.
Gable and I had wanted to come on this one in particular, so after we’d finished the hike this morning and eaten lunch, we’d decided to do this one before we left in the morning.
The others had stayed at the house with the promise of cooking dinner.
I hadn’t minded.
I didn’t get to spend as much time with Gable as I used to before he’d met his wife, Athena.
Not that I had any hard feelings against her.
I loved Athena.
I loved that she made my brother happy.
I also loved that she was there for him when he’d been shot a few months ago and we thought he wasn’t going to make it.
All because of me.
I had a hit put out on me months ago thanks to a new gang leader taking over the Breakers gang. Apparently, the new leader didn’t like that I’d fooled him when I was undercover years ago, and he made that known by telling everyone in his gang that if they saw me, to kill me.
Only, what they thought was me was actually my brother.
Gable was okay now.
Though, at one point, we didn’t think he would be.
I knew it wasn’t my fault.
That didn’t make my heart hurt any less, though, when I thought about my brother taking a bullet meant for me.
“No,” Gable said. “The last time I did this, this part was closed because of snowfall.”