Page 6 of Open Secrets
Chapter Two
Lyle — Present
I slam the drawer, the wood rattling in its frame, and shove shirts into my bag without folding, without order—just in.
Fucking Markus.
Just because his life is circling the drain, he had to drag mine down with it. Couldn’t keep his mouth shut, couldn’t keep his misery to himself—had to lob a grenade into my marriage. He ripped the bandage off and left Maria and me bleeding in the open. Bastard deserved to get punched.
Dropping onto the bed, I rub my hands over my face, dragging them down until my jaw aches. Yesterday I was fine pretending everything was under control—the same way I do in uniform. Keep your head up, wear the mask, keep moving. But then I laid Markus out, and suddenly Maria wanted to talk.
The last time she said that, she ended us.
God. With a start like ours, nobody thought we’d make it this far. Hell, even I didn’t. She got us lost on our first date. We hiked half the night, scratched to hell, and were in the middle of a pretty serious make out session when her dad found us. All the goodwill I’d earned with my kickass shooting skills went out the window when he found me with my hand up his daughter’s shirt.
He was so furious, threatened me to stay away which, well kind of made Maria like me more. And my mom? She was worse. Told me flat-out I couldn’t see Maria again. Like telling a sixteen-year-old boy no was ever going to stop him. It only made me want her more.
Even when she drove me crazy. Even when she swore we weren’t lost while we were standing in the middle of a goddamn forest with no idea which way was north. I followed her anyway.
I think that was the moment I fell in love with her. Christ, I loved her so much it hurt to breathe. The day before graduation, I even bought a ring. Cheap. All I could afford. But it was real. And it was hers.
Then—
Then I got to her house.
Twenty-Five Years Ago – Gatesville, Texas. 2000.
I sat in my car, engine knocking like it was coughing its last breath, and forced myself to stay calm. Teddy had conned me when he sold me this heap — my first car, and it already felt one turn away from dying.
Today was Graduation had. Caps were tossed in the air, parents cried, everyone pretended the world was about to change. Maybe it was. People were still laughing about Y2K — how just months ago they swore everything would collapse at midnight. Families had hoarded basements full of canned beans and bottled water, and now they were selling it off at yard sales, marked down or given away.
Maria hadn’t cared about it then, and she didn’t care now. What she cared about was tonight. She said she wanted to talk before the afterparty at Conner’s. I had something to say too.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small velvet box. My hand shook. The ring wasn’t much — cheap, plain — but it was real. And it was hers.
Yes, we were too young. But I loved her so much I could barely breathe, and I knew I wanted the rest of my life with her.
My mom would lose her mind if she found out. She already thought Maria was trouble, that I should keep my head down and focus on the Army. But she didn’t understand — Maria wasn’t just some girl. She was it.
In a week, I was shipping out to boot camp. Maria was heading to Austen University. Two different roads. But maybe, if I was lucky, they would run side by side.
I shoved the box back inside my pocket, gripped the wheel, and finally opened the door before I lost my nerve.
The second I stepped out, Maria’s front door creaked and she stepped outside.
She wasn’t dressed for a party. No sundress, no makeup, no shine. Just old shorts, a worn T-shirt, and hair pulled back like she couldn’t be bothered.
“Hey,” I said, forcing a smile. “You feeling okay?”
Her eyes were red, swollen. She sniffed, arms wrapping tight around herself as she came closer.
“Listen, Lyle,” she started, voice unsteady. “I’ve been thinking.”
My stomach sank.
“I’m about to leave for Austin, and you’re leaving too. And I just…” She swallowed, eyes wet in the porch light. “I don’t want us to be one of those couples who hold on too long, only to end up hating each other.”
The ring box in my pocket dragged me under like a stone.
