Page 61 of Squatch Out!
Sean’s eyes flick to the side, to his brother, before coming back to me.
Owen lets out a heavy sigh, “Yeah, that’s the bare bones of it. Sean was sixteen, and I was twenty-one, when the accident happened. We grew up down south, along the Oregon coast. It’s all small towns down there, and with the coastal range so close, it made being who we are easy. It was a good place to grow up. But life on the coast can be a hard one, especially if you’re not used to it.
“Our dad met my mom when he was working out in California. They fell hard and fast for each other. When she accepted his secret, he brought her back to Oregon with him. Only, she hated it.”
I don’t miss the way Sean squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, like he’s reliving some uncomfortable memory. Part of me wants to ask Owen to stop, because I get it. But also, I want to know more about these people who helped shape the man I’ve moved clear across the country to be with and who I’ll never get a chance to meet.
“She tried to make it work. For him. Then for us. But by the time Sean and I were teenagers, all the light had dimmed from her eyes. The seasonal depression had morphed into somethingmore. The love she had for our dad, and for us, wasn’t enough for her anymore. So, she left.”
Owen straightens his long legs with a sigh and then leans back into the couch cushions. “My dad tried to let her go, but in the end, he couldn’t handle it. So, he went after her to bring her back. We’re not sure what happened then. He was gone for about a week, but we would talk to them every night. Our last conversation was positive. They’d worked something out, and our mom decided to come back home with him. The next night, we didn’t get a call.”
Owen lets out a long sigh. “The next day, they were both found in her car at the bottom of the seaside cliffs. The police report blamed poor road conditions and a bad squall that came through.”
“Oh no.” My hands fly up to my mouth to stifle my gasp. “I’m so sorry.”
Sean gives me a sorrowful look that breaks my heart. I think I’m beginning to understand why he pushed me away when I left.
“Did you think I would end up hating it here and then hating you?” When he looks away, I jump to my feet and cross the room to stand in front of him. He watches me carefully, then stiffens when I climb into his lap. I expect him to push me away, but when he doesn’t, I curl against his chest like a child might. “Is that why you tried to push me away? Because I meant to tell you a million times how much I love it here. When I arrived, I felt like I was coming home, which is something I’ve never felt in Virginia.”
I watch the sides of his jaw tick as he clenches his teeth.
“I’m so sorry about your parents,” I whisper. “I know how hard it is to lose your family, but your mom isn’t me. And you aren’t your dad.”
Sean closes his eyes and leans forward so his forehead is resting against mine. His breath puffs, warm and minty, against my lips. I circle my arms around his neck and lean into him.
I hear a rustling behind me as Owen pushes himself up from the couch, but I don’t move or look over at him, even when I hear the front door open.
“If I come back down here tomorrow and see her shit still in her car, I will personally string you up and knock some sense into your thick skull with a tree branch!” he warns Sean. Then, to me, he adds softly, “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my mouth. “Thanks, Owen. I think I’ve got it from here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
SEAN
Slowly, I look up at where Olivia hasn’t moved from my lap. She’s still watching me. Her beautiful face is carefully expressionless.
She’s still here. She hasn’t left, not even after you acted like a complete tool.
“Are you hungry?” I ask her.
“I could eat,” she replies quietly.
I’ve missed how she feels pressed against me like this. Her scent in my nose and her arms around my neck with her fingers curled in my hair. I hate to move her, but I promised her food. Carefully, I lift her off my lap and set her on her feet, then I take her hand and lead her into the kitchen—and wince at the mess.
How long as it been this bad? Maybe she won’t notice?
Olivia carefully lets go of my hand and looks under the sink for a trash bag, which she starts filling with the piles accumulating around the overflowing garbage can. Yeah, she noticed.
While she’s doing that, I cross the room to the fridge, only to find…nothing. Not even a carton of milk. Just a block of cheeseand some half-empty condiments. I try the freezer above the fridge.
“Is frozen pizza okay?” I take the last cardboard box out and drop it on top of the oven.
“Pizza is fine,” she calls back from the living room, where she’s started gathering more empties that have been accumulating for the last couple months.
I preheat the oven and then start working on the mountain of dishes overflowing the sink, only to realize the dishwasher is already filled with dishes, and I can’t remember if they are clean or not.Probably not. So, I start that, then move on to?—
“Sean. Sean?SEAN!”
