“Yep. He sure did.” He walked over and kissed me. “What’s wrong? You seem upset?”

“Adam just called. I’m meeting him at the cemetery at eleven to talk.”

Alex sighed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be okay. This is something I need to do on my own.”

“Okay. But I can be there in a flash if you need me.”

I broke our embrace and kissed his lips. “I’ll be okay.”

“I know you’ll be.” He softly smiled. “Is breakfast ready? I’m starving.”

“Yes. Breakfast is ready. Go sit down.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

“Nah. You only love me for my mad cooking skills.”

“Maybe, but I also love you for your mad fucking skills.” He smirked.

“Get your ass to the table, you dirty-talking man.” I slapped his ass with the spatula.

“Make sure you bring that to bed tonight.” He pointed at me with a grin on his face.

The pitof my stomach was twisted in knots as I pulled into the cemetery. Making a left on the first turn, I saw Adam’s car parked at the curb. I pulled behind him and took a long, deep breath as I exited the car. Feeling sick to my stomach, I leaned against the car for a moment to collect myself. I could see Adam straight ahead, kneeling on the ground. Slowly walking over to him, I stared at the headstones that displayed my sister’s and parent’s names.

“Hey,” I spoke as I placed my hand on my brother’s shoulder.

He turned and looked at me, squinting his eyes as the warm sun beat down on us.

“Hey. Thanks for coming.”

I knelt down beside him. “The headstones are beautiful.”

“Yeah, they are. When did you get back?” he asked without looking at me.

“Yesterday.”

“Are you staying?”

“Yeah. I’m staying.”

“So, you and Alex are a thing now?”

“Yes. We’re dating and living together. Is that okay?”

He glanced over at me. “Are you happy?”

“Yeah. I love him, Adam.”

“Then it’s okay.” He reached over, grabbed my hand, and gave me a small smile.

“Listen, I’m so sorry for everything. You’re my brother and all the family I have left, and I really screwed us up over the past eight years.”

“I understand now why you left, Em. But I was here to help you get through it.”

I looked down at the ground and pulled a weed. “I didn’t want help, Adam. I just wanted to escape the reality of what happened. It was a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from, and the only sense of peace I could find was to try and live the dream Emily and I had. You were right all along; I was running. Running away from the accident, the deaths, and my home. But I’m home now, and this is where I’m staying.”