Page 48 of Beautiful Ruins
I wiped my palms over my dark jeans. Each step felt heavier the closer I got to the house. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d stepped foot inside the place. Well . . . except for the first night I’d climbed through Sadie’s window, half cut and about ready to burn the fucking town down over that goddamn bruise.
Now, we had to play happy families. I might as well have strapped a target to my back for Chief Cooper. Hell, one on my chest, too. I was lined up squarely in everyone’s sights with no way to dodge. But running never was my style—that was more Sadie’s.
The porch steps creaked under my weight as I made my way to the front door, the old wood worn down from years of carrying everyone’s secrets.
The whir of a vacuum droned over everything, slipping past the wide-open timber door, where the only thing separating me and Sadie was the flimsy screen. As if that would have stopped anything more than flies from getting in.
I ran a finger over the dust-covered cladding, revealing the off-white colour beneath it. Paint chipped off in streaks, and the entire house sagged like it needed a good rest. Couldn’t blame it for that.
I gave the screen door handle a quick test, and it popped open with barely a touch. Jesus Christ. Sadie was practically asking for trouble. And I hated how that made my chest tighten.
Speaking of Sadie, I found her dancing around in the living room, completely absorbed in her own little world. Headphones so big they practically swallowed her head, stopped her from hearing me as she belted out the chorus of a song I didn’t recognise with everything she had.
Her voice was still about as tuneful as nails on a chalkboard. And I’d be damned if it wasn’t the best thing I’d heard in a long while.
The corners of my mouth twitched, then transformed into the first real smile I’d allowed in years. It stretched across my face, tugging at muscles I’d long since forgotten existed. There wasn’t much worth smiling about in this place.
Besides, I couldn’t help that the sight of Sadie lit me up and chipped away at the thick layer of stone I’d built around my heart. It didn’t matter that she was also the reason it had been put there in the first place.
She shoved the vacuum over the floor like itwas an enemy she had to conquer. Back and forth, rolling her hips, completely unguarded and unaware she had an audience.
Her damn denim shorts clung to her exactly how I remembered them to. She moved like no-one had ever broken her, her legs tanned and bare, just like the beginning of that summer before everything had blown up. As if the universe wasn’t out there waiting to swallow her whole.
As she twirled around the room, carefree and oblivious, all I could think about was the feel of her lips on mine, of her body pressed up against my back as I drove her home after claiming her as mine.
I braced a shoulder against the doorframe, making myself comfortable as I took her in. My smirk still lingered, and I wanted to absorb some more of her light before she realised I was standing there.
Goddamn, she was fucking gorgeous, and I was a little more than excited to pretend to play house with her for however long it took.
In her last off-key, belted out tune, she swung around to face the door, her dark hair whipping around her face. Her eyes locked onto mine immediately.
A scream ripped through her, a hand flying to her chest. “Jesus Christ, Rowan.” She yanked her headphones from her head. “You scared the hell out of me.”
I lifted a shoulder, my smirk growing just a little wider. “I was just enjoying the show, Firefly.”
Her expression tightened, eyes narrowing like she was taking aim. “What do you want? I’m busy.” Her tone had the perfect mix of irritation and suspicion.
“I can see that,” I said, stepping fully inside the living room, the screen door creaking shut behind me. The inside looked the same—frayed at the edges, like Sadie herself. Stillstanding, but only just. “Maybe next time you’ll learn to lock your doors. You never know who could be watching you.”
I was poking the bear, but I couldn’t help it. It was our twisted way of falling back into the rhythm we’d always had, like old times.
With a roll of her eyes, she shut the vacuum off with a click and crossed her arms over her chest like she could shield herself from me. “Well,” she snapped, foot tapping against the worn carpet—a ticking clock counting down until she decided she was done with me. “Say what you came to say, then go.”
I dropped into the two-seater against one wall, spreading my arms over the back cushions like I owned the place. “I need you,” I said, drawing the words out slowly.
Sadie blinked, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. She was always trying to act like she didn’t care, but her sudden stillness was all the proof I needed, to know I was already getting under her skin. Maybe I’d never really left. I didn’t doubt she remembered the way things had been between us all those years ago. We’d both danced around the inevitable—us together.
Now we had enough baggage to fill a fucking dump site, and that linked us tighter than either of us wanted to admit.
“You . . .” Sadie paused, her breath catching in her throat, “. . . need me.” Her cheeks flushed pink, a hint of vulnerability cracking through her tough exterior.
For a moment, she was the Sadie I used to know, the one who would’ve done anything for Logan—possibly for me—before everything turned to shit.
I dragged my teeth over my bottom lip before nodding once. How the hell was I supposed to act like what I was about to tell her wasn’t killing me inside.
“We’re going to find out what your mother wasinvestigating.”
“Wait.” She rubbed her forehead, confusion written all over her face. “You’ve been pushing me away since I showed you Logan’s note. Now you suddenly want my help?” The surprise in her voice stung more than I let on, a reminder of how much of a dick I’d been to her since she’d arrived back home.
