Page 99 of From the Wreckage
And there’s no fixing it.
Not with nails. Not with hinges. Not with a thousand goddamn projects.
Because the one person I loved and lost will never come back.
Yet every morning, my eyes drift beyond the lake to her dad’s cabin, searching for her. Waiting like a damn fool for the one woman I’ll never move on from.
CHAPTER 72
Brielle
Wednesday comes too fast.I clutch my notebook tighter as I walk across the quad, the late-summer sun too bright for how heavy I feel inside. My stomach knots tighter the closer I get to the building.
And then I see him, and my anxiety spikes.
Joey leans casually against the brick wall by the door like he belongs there, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He spots me instantly, his too-bright smile spreading like he’s been waiting all morning just for this.
“Bri,” he drawls, pushing off the wall, “Good morning.”
I stop short, every muscle in my body tightening. “Don’t.”
He raises his hands in mock surrender, that golden-boy grin firmly in place. “Hey, I’m just trying to be friendly. We’re in this class together three times a week. Might as well get used to seeing each other.”
“I don’t have to get used to anything.” My voice is clipped, sharper than I intend, but it feels good to put a wall between us.
He tilts his head, studying me like I’m a puzzle he already knows how to solve. “C’mon, Bri. Don’t be like that. We had something good once. Everyone thought so.”
My chest constricts, heat flaring in my cheeks. “We didn’t. And you know it.”
His smile falters for just a second, and for that fraction of a moment, I catch the steel in his eyes, cold and sharp. But then it’s gone, smoothed over by charm. “You’re mad. I get it. You’ll see it, eventually.”
“No, Joey.” I move past him, my shoulder brushing his, my pulse racing. “I won’t.”
He falls into step beside me, his tone maddeningly light. “So stubborn. That’s one of the things I always loved about you.”
Loved. Past tense. But the way he says it makes it sound like a promise.
By the time I slide into a seat in the middle row, my hands are shaking. He sits at the desk beside me, a small aisle separating us, still smiling like this is all just some game he’s already won.
I stare straight ahead, praying for the professor to start the lecture, anything to drown out the sound of Joey’s voice echoing in my head.
And all the while, a single thought eats away at me: Everett would never let this happen. I don’t know how he would prevent this, but he would’ve. He would’ve found a way. Been my shield like he was this summer.
But Everett isn’t here.
I’m alone.
I turn my head to the window, staring at the quad. My tattered heart sluggishly beats inside my chest, missing Everett so much it aches.
By the time class ends,I’ve chewed the end of my pen to shreds, and my notes are a mess of shaky lines. I shove my notebook into my bag, desperate to put space between Joey and me.
But he’s faster.
He falls into step beside me as I push through the door, his grin easy, practiced. “Hey, so listen. The first home football game is on Saturday. Everyone’s going. You should come.”
“No.” The word comes out sharp and immediate.
He chuckles like I just made a joke. “C’mon, Bri. It’ll be fun. Just like old times.”
