Page 63 of Forever Golden

Scar nods and the tears flow faster as her hand lingers in his. Then, she’s gone. Shane’s stare stays trained down the hallway long after Scar disappears. Maybe sensing his brother’s need to escape, Ricky holds out his keys. Shane doesn’t hesitate to take them, then heads out to the car.

With them both out of earshot, I turn to Ricky. “When’s he leaving?”

“Friday.”

Before Scar makes it back to say goodbye. Now, I feelextraguilty.

“He hates it, but it’s for the best,” Ricky reasons with a shrug. “He’ll understand one day. At least, that’s my hope.”

I feel his anguish, see him questioning whether he’s made the right choice.

“Anyway, I’m gonna take off. I should make sure he’s okay.”

Knowing I need to go do the big sister thing myself, I nod. “Thanks for coming by to help.”

I follow him to the door and let him step out onto the porch.

“Sorry you had to deal with that,” he says. “I thought I put the fear of God in him that last time.”

“Apparently, it’s going to take a whole lot more than fear to get through to these two,” I joke. “We’ll talk later.”

He nods and I close the door when he turns to leave.

West stands, towering over me and I peer up. “I should take off, too. Pretty sure Scar needs you.”

“Yeah, guess I’ll sleep sometime this week,” I tease, leaning into his chest when he pulls me close. “Thanks for rushing over. Sorry I scared you.”

“As long asyou’regood, I’m good.”

My arms squeeze him tighter and, despite the crazy circus tonight’s turned into, he makes me feel comforted.

“See you in an hour,” he says with a laugh. It’s a joke, but he’s not too far off.

“Text me when you get in, so I know you made it safe.”

He promises he will, then he’s gone, leaving me to deal with my sister and her vat of emotions. I set the alarm, turn off the lights, then prepare myself for a sleepless night, because Scar needs me and… that’s what sisters are for.

Chapter 23

BLUE

Our plane lands exactly two and a half hours after takeoff, and I slept nearly the entire time. My late night with Scar meant I lumbered around like a zombie this morning, trying to get ready and look at least semi-decent for the flight. If you ask West, I’m gorgeous as always. If you ask me, I look like death warmed over.

Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

Whatever I look like or feel like this morning, it’s worth it. Being up all night gave me a chance to speak candidly with my sister, which I soon realized we both needed. For instance, I am now aware that she and Shane never stopped screwing around, they just got better at hiding it. Perhaps, I was naïve to ever think they ended it, but she swears they tried. Only, that resolution didn’t hold up very long. I’m certain the only reason she and Shane will be exercising any measure of restraint is because he’ll be a thousand miles away.

All the drama aside, I’msorry he’s leaving. His absence hurts two people I care about deeply, but considering myowncircumstances, I don’t fault Ricky for sending him away. Sometimes, the plight of the older sibling is that we get stuck doing the dirty work. Especially those of us who must also act as our siblings’ parents.

We exit the plane and West seems to sense that I’m a bundle of nerves. He keeps a tight hold on my hand while we make our way through the crowded terminal, down to the baggage claim, then out to the sidewalk to wait for the ride he arranged—a party bus that will fit all six of us, plus our luggage. While we wait, I finally have a moment to turn my phone back on. The new one, that is. At first, I’m leaning on West’s shoulder while I scroll, but pop back up at the sight of an unexpected text.

Roby: Just an update. I’m following a couple new leads, but won’t get my hopes up until I have something solid. Try to enjoy Christmas break without worrying too much. I’m working hard to put this thing to bed.

Blue: Thanks for keeping me in the loop. I’ll try.

I flash the screen toward West, so he’s up to speed. He reads it, then releases my hand to drape an arm around my shoulders.

“He seems like a good guy. You were smart to get him involved,” he assures me.

---