Page 11 of Beyond Oblivion

“Her parents hate me.”

“Still?”

“Maddie doesn’t want them knowing she’s talking to me, so that’s my guess.”

I winced before I said my next words. “Do you think… do you think it’s a good idea, you spending time with her, if her parents are against it?”

“I just helped her this once. Let her get it all out of her system. I doubt I’ll see her again.”

“She asked you to come over again in her text.”

“She did?” he asked, genuinely confused. “Why?”

“I’m sorry. It kept buzzing and I got curious.”

“Babe, you know I don’t care. Why does she want me to come over?”

“She said she felt like you were the only one she could talk to about it.”

“Damn,” he said, cringing. “I’m conflicted. I can’t keep re-living it over and over. Maybe once she gets it out of her system, she’ll feel better, and we can both move on. But, yeah, you’re right. It’s not okay to keep hanging out with her if her parents are against it.”

“Not that she’s a child, but it’s a complicated situation. And you’re not a licensed therapist.”

“No shit,” he said, chuckling. He looked at me and kissed my hand. “But I get it, ya know… the difference between talking to someone about a traumatic experience and talking to someone who understands is the difference between a ditch and the Grand Canyon. I have that with you. You just get me. You understand where I’m coming from, about everything. I can understand her needing to reach out to someone who understands on a different level than everyone else. I just hope she doesn’t think it’ll be forever. Because, like you said, there are professionals for that.”

“And it’s not mentally healthy for you to have to keep revisiting that night.”

His grin faded. “No.” He sighed. “No, it’s not. I still have nightmares sometimes.”

“You do? You’ve never said anything.”

“Because it’s creepy. It’s like a mix of both accidents, you and Kenzie. It’s her car. That night. But when I look at her body, it’s never her face. It’s always yours. Wearing what you were wearing the night of our accident. It’s the kind of shit that makes me afraid to fall asleep.”

“Why haven’t you talked to me about it?”

“I haven’t had one in over a year.” He winced as he said the next words, “And you’ve felt guilty enough. I didn’t want to trigger those feelings again.”

I squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry. That must’ve been like torture. But know that you can talk to me. Youshouldtalk to me. About anything. Even if it might bring up feelings for me. We do everything together, right?”

He kissed my hand again. “I know.” After a few moments, he chuckled. “Did you see Olive’s face when she won? That little tootie doodle dootz. She looked like a crazy warrior princess, screaming mean, shaking her fists in the air.”

I laughed. Trenton could always change the subject seamlessly. I didn’t mind, he’d had Mackenzie’s death on his mind for the last two days, having to relive it in conversation with Madison. He deserved a distraction.

The truck bounced as it pulled into the drive, and we waited in silence as the garage door whirred on its way up. Trenton parked and jogged around my side to open the door.

“You know what’s weird?” he asked as he helped me step down onto the concrete floor. “I miss puttin’ Olive in her booster seat.”

“You hated that thing.”

“I know. She was just so little then. She’s like… a real kid now. She puts on her own seat belt. I don’t even know when the last time was that I put her down after carrying her.” He blinked. “Now that’s fuckin’ sad. I’m gonna cry myself to sleep tonight.”

“Aw, Twent,” I said, hugging him to my side.

“C’mon, don’t do that to me!” he said, pretending to cry.

He went straight to the shower, and after connecting my phone to the charger and putting my purse on the desk, I undressed and joined him. I pressed my cheek against his wet back and closed my eyes.

“Mrs. Maddox,” Trenton said, crossing his arms over mine.

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