Mac will thank me for it later. At least that’s what I tell myself as Mitch reaches her side. They hug for a brief moment, her brother muttering something before she pulls back. He looks down at her, jaw tight as if he’s restraining the urge to wrap her in cotton wool and carry her away. Instead, he nods and Mac steps around him, reaching Elijah by the car. He’s looking down at her like she belongs to him and I bank the rage with massive effort.
I force my gaze back to Mitch, watching his eyes harden like granite. I brace and Mitch comes out swinging, though it’s not with fists like I expect. He attacks with words that do more damage than any punch can do. Physical injuries can heal, but words find the deepest part of your soul and they live there for an eternity.
He steps up on the porch. It brings us to eye level.
“You made the right call,” he says.
My voice is like sandpaper. “I know.”
“You’re not good enough for my little sister.”
I don’t need Mitch reinforcing what I’ve known all along. “I know that too.”
“You want to know why?”
Mitch has a steely look in his eye that Mac gets. It means he’s going to spell it out for me whether I want him to or not. “I know why.”
“I don’t think you do, so I’m going to do you a favour and tell you.” Mitch steps in my space, nostrils flaring. “My little sister is a lone wolf. Fierce and unpredictable. She’s pretty much untameable, no matter how much my parents try. She has more worth than the rarest diamond, more heart than the strongest lion, and she’s smarter than any of us give her credit for. And here she was, prepared to give all that to you, and you just let her walk away.”
My head fogs with confusion. “I …”
His finger jabs me hard in the chest. Twice. “You didn’t fight for her, douchebag. That’s how I know you’re not good enough.”
I take a step back and fold my arms, brows tight with tension. “I’m doing the best thing for her. We’re too young. She should be home with her parents, shopping with her friends, going to movies, choosing a university out of all the offers she got. She shouldn’t be at some ridiculous finishing college, and she shouldn’t be here with me, pissing her future away. I thought we’d be in agreement on this.”
“We are in agreement. Coming home is the best thing for her.”
I throw up my arms. “Then what the hell!”
“Love transcends everything, asshole. The only man good enough for my sister is one who would fight to keep her no matter what.” Mitch shakes his head, and he’s right. I’m not fighting to keep her. But I am fighting to save her from myself. “You screwed up, Romero. Big time. There’s no coming back from that.”
Mitch starts down the stairs and pauses, turning to look back. “Oh, and one more thing. Stay the hell away from her. If we find you back in her life, Travis will dig a nice big hole in the ground, Jared will hunt you down, and I’ll bury you in it.”
MAC
Two years later…
I wheel my suitcase down the hallway until I reach the numbered apartment I’m searching for. Letting the handle go, I straighten my shoulders and stare at the door. It’s been a long road to get here after leaving Melbourne. After the car accident.
My life irrevocably changed the day I woke up in hospital. Even now, when I’m doing everything I can to move on, it plays out like a movie in my mind.
“Mitch?” I turned my head on the pillow of my hospital bed so I could look him in the eye. “Did you talk to Jake?”
My brother just stood there grinding his jaw, his right arm in a sling from a wrist fracture.
“Did you tell him about the accident?” I prompted. Then my voice lowered to a raspy whisper because the words were hard to speak aloud. “Did you tell him that I lost … that I …” I couldn’t finish. Jake lost a child before he knew he was going to be a father. A lump formed in my throat. It was painful to swallow. I didn’t care that he pushed me away. This was bigger than our rift. It was bigger than anything. The pain had eclipsed my entire world.
Jake would want to know. And I needed him right now, more than I’d ever needed anyone.
Mitch looked away, fixing his gaze on the wall to my left. “I told him.”
But Jake wasn’t here. “And?”
His gaze came back to me. “And nothing, sweetheart.”
“What do you mean and nothing? Why isn’t he here?”
Mitch’s expression was stony. “He wanted a clean break.”
“No … Mitch, he wouldn’t do this.” Tears threatened and my voice turned shrill. “He wouldn’t stay away.” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, panic building like a storm. I rose to my feet. “He wouldn’t.”
My brother just stood there like a dumb, useless lump. I planted my hands on his chest and shoved. My legs were unsteady and it caused me to stumble backward.
“You’re a liar!” I cried, grabbing the mattress to keep me upright. Mitch tried to help with his one good arm and I batted him away. “Where is he? Where’s Jake?”
Mitch shrugged, helpless in the face of my rage. “I’m sorry.”
“Fuck your apology!” I screamed. “Fuck you!” My fingers found the IV in my inner elbow and I ripped it from my skin. I was going to leave the hospital and find Jake. And when I did, I was going to beat the everloving shit out of him for abandoning me like a loser.
“Calm down.” Mitch grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back toward the bed.
I slapped and shoved at his chest. “I won’t calm down. Fuck you!”
My shouts drew Elijah and Travis to the room. “Mac!” Travis barked. “What are you doing?” Mitch had my shoulder and Travis grabbed at my torso, trying to push me back in bed without using too much force. “Get back in bed!”
“Don’t order me around!” My breath came in frantic pants. I fought like a wildcat, and the three of them worked at pinning me down as I thrashed and screamed. “Let me go!”
They wrestled me onto the bed and Eli got in my face, blue eyes panicked and blond hair falling in his eyes. “Mac! Please,” he begged. “You can’t—”
“Get the hell off me!” My legs kicked out forcefully and my back bowed in an attempt to buck them off. A male nurse rushed into the room to help.
He jabbed a needle in my arm but I didn’t see it. I rolled to my side and curled in a ball, a deep sob ripping from my chest. I wanted to die. “Just leave me alone,” I whispered.
I was defeated. They must have seen it because the room slowly emptied, all except for Eli. I turned my head and looked into his eyes. He stared back silently and after seven pained breaths, my eyes closed and I drifted away.