Page 125 of Broken Skulls

Iglance around me.Where the fuck are we?

“Jacob, you never left me alone. You left me with your family.”

My eyes stop on hers. “Elizabeth,” I choke out. “What is this?”

She moves to my side. “It’s a greenhouse,” she says breathlessly. “What do you think?”

“I think you’ve been busy.”

Her giggle reminds me that my father didn’t break her. She’s fine. Relief washes over me anew.

Fuck, I’m so stupid. I’ve been hiding in the dark while she’s been out here flourishing in the light.

“I asked the club to help me.”

I raise my eyebrows, running my fingers through my beard. Her asking for help is a huge step. She smiles at me. She’s pretty proud of herself. She should be. Fuck, I know I am.

“Do you want to see inside?” she asks, bouncing on her toes.

I nod, letting her haul me through the door.

She stands in the middle of the room as I walk around checking everything out. I notice she pulls her phone out of her pocket.

“I’m just letting Brody know you’ve left the basement. Everyone’s been worried about you,” she admits quietly.

I place my hands on my head, spinning in a circle. “I don’t even know what to say. I thought my mom’s plants were done for. Everything was such a mess.”

“Lily and Willow helped me save them.”

I run one of my mom’s condolence cards between my fingers. Elizabeth walks up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. Quickly, I swipe at my eyes. I don’t want her to see me cry.

“Fucking sun,” I whisper harshly.

She squeezes me tighter.

“You know, when I pulled you away from that cliff, I didn’t know one day you would do the same for me,” I laugh lightly, pressing my palms against my eyelids.

I can’t believe I found someone who would willingly stay with me after seeing how fucked up I am.

“You and me. Just two kids against the world, remember?”

I turn around and cup her face in my hands. “I’m the luckiest kid in the universe.”

“Let’s dance,” she says, pulling away from me.

She puts my mother’s favorite album on. As soon as it starts playing, I hold my hand out to her.

“Nice touch,” I say, tugging her against my chest.

“I thought the plants would enjoy the music,” she laughs, happier than I’ve ever seen her.

When the album finishes, we continue to hold each other through the silence that follows.

“I do love you, Elizabeth.”

“I know.”

A little jingle echoes through the peacefulness of the greenhouse. We both still.

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