Page 19 of Choosing Forever
“He’s notalwaysthe boogeyman,” she corrects me. “But honestly, we don’t need to talk about him. Even if I know you can handle it, we have more than enough to talk about without involving my brother. He’s not why I came to see you at four in the morning, anyway.”
“You came to check on me. I know,” I assure her. “But we both know why the drive-in means so much to me.”
The sadness in her eyes forces me to dart my eyes away from her. “Memories haunt the places we thought we’d outgrown, Della. You’re allowed to feel the pain of losing one as important to you as the drive-in.”
My throat strains around my next words. “I can’t.”
Not without grieving Darren too. And I’ve done that one toomany times already. I can’t grieve the loss of one without the other when they’re so tightly intertwined.
“Maybe they’ll rebuild it,” she murmurs, reaching up to tighten her bun.
“I’m not sure it would be worth the cost.”
“It’s a shame they stopped taking care of it. If they rebuilt it now, I wonder if we could all band together to help keep it running.”
My smile feels heavy as doubt wiggles in my gut. “Maybe.”
Noticing my reaction, she lets it drop and starts digging in the bag beside her. “I’m sorry. Let’s snack and forget about it for now, yeah?”
I catch the bag of licorice when she tosses it across the room. “That sounds great.”
The licorice is sweet, but the ache in my heart doesn’t budge. Still, I chew and pretend it’s enough while Poppy keeps me company.
7
DARREN
It doesn’t hitme until I get home.
The bitter churn of nausea in my stomach sends me straight to the bathroom. I hit my knees on the tile in front of the toilet and throw up. The smoke clinging to my clothes and hair makes everything worse. I squeeze my eyes shut and grip the back of the toilet. It’s so cool against my hot palms.
By the time I’m finished, it’s hard to swallow past the burn in my throat. I struggle to my feet and use a sweaty hold on the vanity to haul myself to the sink. The water I splash on my face doesn’t get colder, no matter how long I leave the right tap running.
I turn it off and heave over the sink, refusing to look into the mirror. What I’d find in my reflection would ruin me. Fray the last of my resolve and leave me broken on the floor.
Delaney shouldn’t have been there. Fuck, I’d have preferred her anywhere else.
She’s avoided me like the plague for months since the last time we saw each other, but there she was, watching me fail to save the only place that hadn’t erased the story of us. Decades’ worth of memories gone up in flames. Just like that.
“Want a beer?”
Lifting my head, I look at where Bryce is standing in the hall, watching me.
“I thought you’d be asleep by now,” I say, voice shot to hell.
“Unlikely. Abbie went back to bed after you left, and I haven’t heard her move since.”
“Thank you for coming. I know it’s late.”
That’s an understatement. Abbie’s going to be up for school soon, the sun already cresting over the horizon.
She shifts to give me room to exit the bathroom and follows me into the kitchen. I go right for the coffee machine. It’s already full and ready.
“Don’t apologize for that. It was bad, right?” she asks.
I pour myself a cup of the fresh coffee and leave it black. “It’s gone, B. All of it.”
“Shit.”
