Page 65 of Broken Strings

The lump in my throat swells massively at my father’s thoughtfulness, so that all I can do is nod succinctly. He pats my cheek once more before walking in the direction of the kitchen, humming “You Are My Sunshine”under his breath.

I exhale a breath I didn’t realise I was holding before slipping up the stairs in search of one Summer St James.

She’s nowhere inside the main house, though when I check her old bedroom, I can see she took a trip down memory lane earlier. The hidey-hole underneath her dressing table is open, letters and mementoes scattered across the floor. All of them are familiar to me, as it had been the first place I’d gone to seek answers when she’d left.

I sit for a moment, sifting through pictures of us from age eight to sixteen in all manner of situations.

I stop when I spot a photo from her first Halloween with us, where she’d pleaded with me to be the Ken to her Barbie. I can’t stop the grin that consumes my face as I take in how absolutely ridiculous I look in my Malibu Ken Bermuda shorts, sending blatant puppy dog eyes her way. Even then, I was helpless to deny her. Utterly head over heels for her.

I pack all the pictures up and stack them inside the box before picking up some letters, landing on one in particular. As I’m skimming it with a small grin on my face, I chuckle softly as I rememberexactlywhat had happened that day.

My Bam,

Meet me in the foyer when everyone has gone to sleep. I have something I need to share with you, and I just can’t wait till morning.

Always,

Cade

My grin turns into a full-blown smile as I refold the paper and tuck it back into the box.

I rise to stand, and my smile drops from my face. Having checked everywhere inside, I take a moment to stare out Summer’s old bedroom window across the expansive property at the back of my childhood home, and like a bolt from the blue, I realise where she’s gone to.

I race down the stairs and spill onto the patio, where my family is in quiet conversation. My mum turns to me with a sympathetic pout. “You okay, love? I heard—”

She stops suddenly when I expel a breath, unable to deal with her inherent empathy right now. Only desirous of one thing at this damn moment in time.

“Can you guys please keep an eye on Bug for a bit? I think Summer has gone for a walk, and I…I—”

“Go, Cade.” My mother stands and rounds the table until she’s in front of me. Her eyes are sad. Her face is drawn. But her voice is firm and filled with support. “Bring her home, my love.”

I press a kiss on her cheek and scan the area to spot Bella and her cousin Mia happily playing with some Hot Wheels before catching Dad’s eye and nodding in silent understanding.

Before I take off across the patio, I kick my shoes off, chuckling lightly when my mother tuts at my bad habit. Then I take the steps down onto the manicured lawns two at a time and vault over the hedgerow that marks the boundary between the lawns and the landscape beyond.

As I speed through the long grass, a smile overtakes my face when I let my mind drift back to that night. To the night Summer had just turned fifteen. The night we’d had our first kiss.

* * *

My heart rate kicked up a notch when I heard the creaky floorboard at the top of the stairs.

Please be Summer!

From my hiding place in the shadows, I can just about make out a white figure descending the final steps, landing on the black-and-white tiled floor with silent bare feet.

“Cade?”

I breathe a sigh of relief at her loud whisper and step forward into the dim light spilling in through the glass door from the full moon in the night sky.

“I’m here, Bam.”

Her mouth turns up in a smile that makes my heart beat faster and my palms sweaty. I take a deep breath to calm my latest heart palpitations, though this time, my heart isn’t racing because I’m afraid. It’s racing because of what I’m about to do.

Something I’ve wanted to do for the longest time, and tonight I’m going to lay myself bare for her.

“What did you want to show me?” She tucks a pale strand of her almost waist-length platinum blonde hair behind her ear as her big Bambi eyes find me and hold me a willing hostage in their depths.

“It’s not something I wanted to show you. It’s…” I trail off, suddenly scared.

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