Page 73 of When We Are Complete

I press my hand to my chest again, an ache there. If she could see me now, fumbling, falling short. I just need to work harder. I can still fix this,right? I just have to be strong. Have to hold everything together.

Sitting in my car, staring at the house, memories come back with powerful force: Mom, lying in that narrow bed at the hospice, her face pale, so thin, but her eyes still so fierce, even as the cancer took everything from her.

Her hand was ice when she took mine, squeezing so weakly that I barely felt it. “Kelly, you have to be strong now. For everyone. Don’t cry, darling. Not for me. Promise me.”

The weight of that promise settles on my shoulders. Back then, I nodded, swallowing down every tear, hiding every crack in my heart. But now, in the silence of the car, with the world blanketed in snow, it rises up, raw and unsilenced.

I sit there for a moment longer, staring at the snow-covered world outside, using all my strength to keep those tears at bay.

At least Jake didn’t see my struggle. At least he thinks I’ve still got it all together.

I just need to keep going. Not give up.

Chapter 41

Jake

I waveas Kelly’s car pulls away, her taillights disappearing through the swirling snow. At least she’s got snow chains on, now. She’s barely out of sight before the cold seems to settle in, heavier than before, and I drive back toward the shelter.

I pull up out the front of the high school and step out into the storm again, my mind still on Kelly as I head toward Patrick and the guys in the gymnasium. The shelter’s already packed—families huddled together, blankets and hot coffee being passed around.

There’s a quiet urgency in the air, a sense that everyone here knows the storm’s about to hit hard. I weave through the crowd, checking on supplies, making sure everyone is comfortable, thinking through what just happened at the site.

Something’s wrong. Hell, anyone could see the worry etched across her face, the way she stared off into the snow, fighting a battle only she could see. I thought showing up there might help, that maybe if she saw me doing everything possible to protectthe work we’ve done so far, she’d be reassured. But I could tell by her eyes, by the way she forced a smile and looked away, that I didn’t quite reach her.

I just don’t know what else to say or do.

“Jake, could use a hand here,” Patrick calls from the other side of the room, pulling me out of my thoughts. He’s trying to maneuver a portable heater through a small space between cots, and I give him a nod.

We get the heater in place, and the other guys are handing out flashlights and water bottles with some volunteers. But even in the middle of all this, Kelly’s face keeps coming back to me—the tight set of her jaw, the worry in her eyes.

There’s the weight of the festival and all the expectations she’s carrying. She’s always been determined, always pushing herself to do more. But there was something different this time.

“Earth to Jake,” Antonio says, slapping me on the back as he passes with an armful of blankets. “You good?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just thinking.” I don’t even have the words to explain. Because the truth is, I don’t know how to make Kelly feel better. I wish I did. I wish I knew how to fix all the things that are bothering her.

Liam jogs over. “Everything’s set here. Just in time, too—the wind’s picking up again. We’re in for it tonight. We should head home.”

A glance at my watch. “Yeah. I need to get Adele from her moms. Stay warm, fellas.”

We clap each other on the back before I head toward my truck, driving slowly through the snowfall to get Adele. The drive is tense, the storm’s grip tightening on the world outside. Snowflakes swirl thick around me as I pull up in front of Jenny’s house. None of us were expecting this storm to hit as fast as it has, but we’re here now and we’ll just have to deal with it. I kill the engine, hoping Adele is ready and this will be a quick pickup.

I knock a couple of times, but there’s no answer, so use my spare key to let myself in. Jenny’s house is quiet except for the sound of the wind howling outside.

“Adele, it’s Dad. Are you ready to go?”

I continue through the house and find Adele’s door cracked open slightly, enough to see her sitting on the bed, earbuds in, her back hunched, face red and shoulders shaking.

“Adele?” I step into the room. Her head snaps up, and she turns away quickly, brushing her cheeks.

She doesn’t meet my eye. “What do you want?”

The sight of her tugs hard on something deep inside me. “I’m here to take you home, sweetheart. We’ve gotta go—the storm’s getting worse.”

But she doesn’t move, just hunches deeper into herself. Pain lances through me. I can’t seem to fix anything for the people I love at the moment. I wish Kelly was here now. She’d know just what to say to Adele. She always has the best advice, almost as though she sees something of herself in my daughter.

“Adele, come on, what’s wrong? I thought things were getting better. You’ve been pretty happy since the party. I figured everything at school or with your friends was all sorted.”

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