Page 142 of When Fate Breaks
It’s too damn painful.
My teeth dig hard into my bottom lip, my vision blurring.
If you walk away from me right now, I need you to know that it’s entirely your choice.
That if it were up to me, I wouldn’t spend another day without you by my side.
I can’t look at the photo anymore, turning it over and moving to set it down on the table in front of me. My hand suddenly jerks to a stop as I notice a smear of black on the back of the Polaroid.
What the hell?
I slowly raise the picture to my face to inspect the ink I know was not there before.
E,
Don’t stop believing.
Or dreaming.
Goodbye,
B
My lips part, hot tears welling in my eyes.
“Apple Jacks?”
I hear Remy calling me from inside the house, but I’m unable to move, much less able to speak.
“Chuck just called! He wants us to drop in on Harry’s Bakery today. Where are you?”
More movement from inside. Still no movement from me. My blood feels hot in my face and heavy in my heart.
“Dad says he’s three months behind on rent now and thinks we can convince him to sell!”
The door to the greenhouse is pushed open from behind me.
“Really, where are– Oh, there you are,” Remy breathes, exasperated, when he catches sight of me. “So, what do you think? Can we head that way now?”
I stay silent, my back to him.
“Annie? Did you hear me?”
A single warm tear finally spills over, running down my face.
“Can we talk about this?”
“Yeah, Remy,” I swallow. “We can talk.”
29
PRESENT DAY
Blake
“License and registration, son.”
“Yeah, Bobby, I know the drill,” I reply, holding one hand in front of my eyes to block the light reflecting off of the man’s goldLake Placid Police Departmentbadge while I use the other hand to dig my wallet from the back pocket of my jeans. I register right away that it feels thinner, the Polaroid no longer stuffed inside of it. I shake my head, pushing the thought away, and pull out my driver’s license. Right as I’m handing it and my registration over to the cop, my mom’s head appears over my shoulder.
