Page 73 of Where the Stars Heal

Connor’s words hang in the air, and I stare down at my phone, my thumb hovering over the last messages I sent.

Me: Asher, please come back.

Me: It wasn’t your fault.

Me: I love you.

We’ve all tried calling and texting. Connor even blew up the group chat in hopes that he would finally answer. But his silence is deafening, and with every second that passes, I lose a little bit of hope.

“Hunter,” Madi says, her gaze locked on him, “you knew Ash better than anyone here. Do you have any ideas at all?”

Hunter looks away, his jaw tightening and his temples pulsing as his hands rake through his hair in frustration. There’s a storm raging inside him. I can feel it, the same way I always could when I was a kid. When he would panic and yell at me to climb down the tree faster. How he wouldfrantically grab my hand, saying we had to go finish the chores before Ray got home.

“Hunter?” I question. “Please.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, his shoulders slumping under the weight of it all. “I’ll have to pack a bag.”

Relief floods through me, untangling the knot in my stomach. My lip begins to tremble, the tension in my chest easing as my thoughts start to slow down.Everything’s going to be okay.

Jace leans over, clapping him on the back. “Want me to come with? I can get one of the guys to take the lead on the job site,” he offers.

A flicker of gratitude crosses Hunter’s face before he stands. “I think this is something I’ll have to do on my own,” he says quietly, looking around the room with a sad smile tugging at his mouth.

Jace nods in silent understanding, and Connor stands, his expression serious and supportive. “We’ll hold it down here for you,” he says.

Hunter sighs in relief. “Thanks, man.”

Turning his attention to me, and with a small motion of his head, he gestures to the front of the house. I rise from my seat, taking my coffee with me, and follow him outside. There’s a cooler breeze in the air today, a welcome change to the heat we’ve had these last few months, and as we settle on the top step of the porch, I allow myself to wonder what a winter in Sunlit Cove would feel like. Would the wind carry a sharper edge, the mornings covered in mist? Would the creeks run fuller, would the sound of rain and rushing water echo through the sleepy town?

The street stretches out in front of us, quiet and still, but my eyes drift to the empty space where Asher’s truck shouldbe. The ache in my chest burns at the reminder of why we are out here.

I take a long sip of my coffee as Hunter sits next to me, his elbows resting on his knees as he rubs at his temples.

“He’s gone back,” Hunter finally says, his voice cautious.

Turning my head, I look at him, searching his face to find hesitation there, his lips pressed into a thin line as he thinks of his next words.

“I haven’t been back since I left,” he admits, tilting his head and offering me a small, bittersweet smile, “but I’ll go back for him. You’re right, Hals, we don’t give up on family.”

I rest my head on his shoulder, understanding the weight of his words and what this means for him. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Stop saying sorry, Halle. I need to do this. It’s time. Just…” he pauses, the silence heavy as he exhales a long breath, “I don’t know how long I’ll stay. Can you… Can you look after Madi for me?”

There’s a crack in his voice, a whisper of pain laced with a longing I don’t quite understand. But I don’t question him. Not after everything he’s done for me this summer. He helped me turn my life around and gave me a real family when I thought I didn’t have one. I’ll always be grateful that he answered my call, and that he never stopped being my brother.

“You know I will,” I say.

36

SHE’S BETTER THAN ME

ASHER

Three days have passed me by, each one dragging me further into the life I tried running from. Three days since I left them like the coward that I am.

I couldn’t face Halle and Hunter. The thought of standing there and telling them what I pieced together, of seeing the hurt and anger etched into their faces, the pain that I had caused, is more than I can bear.

They caught the guy eventually.Halle’s words float around in my head as I step through the iron gates of the graveyard. The gravel crunches beneath my boots, and the air grows cooler the farther I go, carrying a faint mossy scent on the wind.

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