Page 114 of Come Break My Heart Again

I force a smile, then wash the bitter taste in my mouth away with some beer. My mind is still spinning with questions, but the answers aren’t ones that Reese can give me.

“How’s working for Tuck going?”

“Don’t tell him, but he’s a decent boss.”

Reese smiles.

“I like it. I get to work with my hands, see what I accomplished at the end of the day. Never thought I’d work in construction, but … never thought a lot of things would happen. It’s been good.”

“You going to stick with it past a year?”

I hear what Reese is really asking. Am I going to stay in Fernwood after my mom is gone?

“Probably not. This town … there’s too much history. Cormac has this whole life in Boston. He showed me around his campus last week. I’ve never seen him so … He figured it out. He’s going to get a degree and a good job and … I’m so proud of him. But it’s not the life you want your older brother hanging around for. I’ll come back and visit, but this isn’t home for me.”

Elle will always haunt me here.

I don’t say it, but I’m thinking it. Anywhere I look, I’ll be imagining how life might have worked out differently for us. Anywhere I go, I’ll be waiting to run into her. One day, she’ll have a ring on her finger or a baby on her hip, and it will break my heart.

“I get it,” Reese says.

I nod, knowing she doesn’t. But then I glance at the basketball Knox left by the hoop, and I reconsider.

Maybe happy endings are fairy tales. When my dad left, I learned that love isn’t enough.

Tuck’s black truck pulls up in front of Reese’s trailer. He hops out a few seconds later, his usual smile stretching his face wide.

“Hey, guys.”

He grabs the basketball, shoots, misses, and walks toward us to the soundtrack of uproarious laughter. For a few seconds, we’re all kids again.

“Awesome aim,” I manage between chuckles.

Tuck flips me off.

Reese is wiping tears from her eyes. “Oh my God. You—that—so bad.”

“You should get Knox to give you some pointers,” I suggest.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go, James. I need you to help me with some measurements at the house so I can get them to the appliance guy.”

“Now?”

“No. Next week, when the fridges are all out of stock again.”

I glance at Reese. “What did I tell you?”

She nods. “Terrible boss. You’re paying him overtime, right, Tuck?”

Tucker rolls his eyes. “Are you guys drunk?”

“Aw, he’s mad we’re drinking without him,” I say.

“Just like high school,” Reese adds. “When you’d go to the One parties for … what did he call it, Ry?”

“Hanging out with thecool guys,” I state.

“Ri-ght,” Reese drawls. “That would be a charming anecdote to share at his wedding.”

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