Page 90 of Don't Let Go

Ty nodded, showing he was listening.

I let out a deep breath and stared up at the stars again. “He took me camping, fishing, and hunting. He taught me how to shoot. My brothers were over hanging out with him. They wanted to be with their friends, but I was always up for an adventure. Carmen hates the woods, and Lizzy was too little, so it was always the two of us.”

“You two were close. Best friends,” he said quietly.

“Yes. We were.” I squeezed my eyes closed to keep myself together. “That gun you saw, that was the gun I learned to shoot with. I didn’t like the shotgun much, but that handgun and I got along well.” I paused for a moment, biting my inside cheek. “When he died, Mamma wanted to move all the guns into a more secure place. She hid them in the towel closet behind a false wall. She claimed it was for Lizzy, but I think she didn’t like seeing the gun cabinet in her bedroom, knowing a gun is what took my papà’s life.”

I let out a shaky breath. “Anyway, so I grabbed my handgun and some extra clips before the guns were moved. You never know when you might need one. It lived in a box in my closet, tucked away for years. When Lizzy… when we had her funeral, and I had to dig my black dress out again, I found the box. The gun felt good in my hand. I took it with me, put it in the glovebox, and drove to say my final goodbyes.”

He was quiet, mulling over my words.

The silence between us felt heavy like a lead jacket was laid upon my shoulders. I faked a yawn and shifted my weight. “It’s late. I should get to bed,” I lied.

For some reason, when Tyler and I sat on that window ledge alone in the darkness, I felt safe, like I could tell him all my secrets, and he’d understand. How could he? We were from two different worlds.

“No. Don’t go,” he said barely above a whisper.

I slipped into my room. “I have to.”

In one smooth movement, Tyler stood and grabbed my window sill, leaping onto my ledge. He stepped into my room. We were chest to chest in a matter of seconds, and all I could do was look up at him through my lashes.

“What are you doing?” I wasn’t sure if I said the words out loud.

Tyler’s hands cupped my face. “You can’t sleep, can you?”

My skin felt warm under his touch. I felt alive. “No. Every time I close my eyes I—”

Tyler hugged me close like he was trying to mend my broken heart with the force of his arms.

“It’s okay to be sad. I can stay if you want me to. I can be the strong one for once.”

I sniffed, inhaling his heavenly scent. “It’s hard always being strong,” I said as my voice broke.

Tyler took my hand and led me over to my bed. I sat down and moved over. He laid on top of my blanket and allowed me to curl up against his chest as his arm wrapped around me.

“I’ll stay awake so you can sleep,” he said softly, his voice like velvet.

I placed my hand on his chest, and his heart pounded underneath my touch. “You can sleep too if you want. I don’t want to be alone right now. My thoughts take me to some scary places.”

“I’ll stay here all night and protect you.” His arm tightened around my waist, making me feel at peace for the first time since I lost Lizzy.

“Please don’t let go,” I whispered, drifting off to sleep.

“Never,” he whispered back.

35

Tyler

When I joined Rory on the window ledge, I wanted to ask her questions and understand how her family was tied to the mafia. Shouldn’t I have been told about this before they moved me in?

All the questions curled into their little boxes when I saw Rory holding that stuffed bunny. Lizzy always had that bunny somewhere close to her in the living room when she was playing with something or watching TV.

Rory looked worse than anyone else in her family. The rest were torn up, but they were showing their pain. Rory swallowed it, kept it bottled up. She was going to explode, and with a gun so close to her grasp, she’d take more than just herself out.

My left arm wrapped around her upper body. She softly snored as she used my chest as a pillow. I gingerly tunneled my fingers through her hair. I slid a couple of chestnut locksbetween my forefinger and middle finger, savoring its silkiness as it fell back onto her shoulder.

She looked at peace. Her mouth relaxed, no longer pulled down around the edges by a heavy frown. Her skin was smooth, and the wrinkles of stress and frustration washed away.

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