Page 88 of From the Wreckage
I can’t. My jaw locks, my chest a hollow pit. The words rot inside me, unsaid.
My silence confirms it all. Shame radiates off me, and I see the moment Grayson accepts it as truth. He drags in a breath that sounds like it’s killing him and steps back.
“Stay the hell away from her,” he says, his voice low and final. His eyes blaze, not with rage now, but with something worse—disappointment. “I thought you were my friend. But you just used me to get closer to my daughter.” He grits his teeth and snarls, “You’re dead to me.”
“Dad, no!” Bri sobs, spinning around and clutching my shirt. Her voice breaks as she pleads, “Why won’t you say something? Anything? Fight for us.”
Her words carve me open, but I don’t bleed. I’m already empty.
She collapses against me, sobbing into my chest. All I can do is hold her and hate myself, as the heart she repaired fractures into pieces too sharp to ever mend.
Because Grayson is right. My silence is an answer. And it’s the only one I can give.
Grayson stomps over, his boots thundering across the floor. His hand clamps onto Bri’s arm, yanking her back. She cries out, fighting to hold on to me, but he’s stronger.
“Enough!” he roars.
His fist slams into my jaw, pain exploding white-hot across my skull. The world tilts, Bri’s scream slicing through the ringing in my ears. My back hits the counter, the copper tang of blood flooding my mouth.
“This ends NOW!” he snaps, his grip like iron around her. His voice is venomous, loathing blazing in his eyes.“Get the fuck out of my house—andourlives. I never wanna see you again!”
My steps are wooden as I move toward the door, a hollow shell of the man I was when I was with her.
I push through the door, moving toward my truck. The door slams behind me, cutting off her broken sobs.
But they echo inside my head, along with the taste of blood and the wreckage of the only thing that ever made me whole.
CHAPTER 63
Brielle
Dad slams the door,rattling the picture frames on the wall. My pulse is a drum in my ears, my arm aching from trying to pull away when he dragged me from Everett.
I’ve never seen him like this. Not when Mom left. Not even with the shit that happened with Joey.
His fury now is a living, breathing thing, filling the cabin until there’s no space left for me to breathe.
He paces the small living room like a caged animal, running a hand over his face, muttering curses under his breath.
Then he spins, his voice a roar that shakes me to my core. “I trusted him, Brielle. I trusted that man with my home, with my friendship, withyou.” His chest heaves, his eyes wild. “And all this time... Jesus Christ.” He drags his hands through his hair. “I thought he was my best friend. Like the brother I never had.”
My voice trembles. “Dad?—”
“Don’t.” His hand cuts through the air, silencing me. “Don’t you dare defend him. I walked in and saw it with my own eyes. Don’t tell me I imagined his mouth and hands on you.”
Hot tears sting my eyes, spilling before I can stop them. “You don’t understand. He’s not?—”
His fist slams into the counter, the sound making me flinch. “He’s not what? Too old? Too broken? He’s been circling you like a wolf, waiting for me to turn my back, so he could take advantage of you.”
I shake my head, choking on the sob in my throat. “He makes me happy. He makes me feel?—”
“Safe?” Dad spits out the word, his face twisted with disgust. “Withhim? You think a man like that can protect you? You think he can give you anything but regret?” His voice cracks, raw and furious. “He’ll ruin you, Brielle. Just like he’s ruined everything else in his miserable life.”
The words slice through me, jagged and merciless. I try again, desperate. “You don’t know him like I do?—”
His laugh is bitter. Ugly. “And what the hell doyouknow? You’re just a girl who doesn’t know the difference between love and obsession.” He moves closer, pointing his finger at me. “He used you. He only wanted one thing.”
I shake my head. The tears blur my vision, but I force the words out, trembling. “I love him.”
