Chapter Four

Karmen Jones

It amazes me that I have lived in this house

my entire life. I have always thought I would be lost without this

safe space and now I am leaving it behind. It has taken me less

than six hours to pack up my entire life and find a suitable

apartment in the city.

I never would have imagined that changing my

entire life would be this easy, but I even have a job interview

next week. It’s like everything is just falling into place, like

this is exactly the path I should be following.

My phone rings and Shane’s name flashes on

the screen.

“I swear, Shane, if you’re calling to talk

me out of this, I will burn this house to the ground.”

“Not at all,” he replies calmly, not even

acknowledging my threat. “I’m actually calling to tell you I sold

your house.”

“Jesus, you’re fast.”

“I’m good at my job. It helps that you have

a great house,” he replies with a chuckle. “The new owner will sign

the paperwork on Monday, but you can stop by whenever you have

time.”

“I’m heading out of town in an hour. Are you

still at the office?”

“I’ll wait.”

He ends the call before I can argue but

that’s just Shane. He has always been abrupt and to the point and

I’m used to it.

Grabbing the last two boxes I carry them out

to my little red hatchback and put them on the back seat. I’ve left

the trunk empty because I don’t know how much stuff Lenor will want

to take with her, and I wanted her to have enough space.

I walk through the house and make sure there

isn’t anything I forgot before heading out on the back porch with a

glass of iced tea to wait another ten minutes before heading to my

friend’s house.

My heart almost burst out of my chest when I

see a man sitting on one of the deck chairs, but I quickly realize

it’s Wesley, the one person I don’t want to see today, or ever

again for that matter. Taking a seat on one of the other chairs, I

sip my drink in silence. I have nothing more to say to him, but he

must be here for a reason. I’ve already put my heart on the line,

and it wasn’t enough for him.

“Do you remember the day I broke my leg

while Tommy and I were trying to build a treehouse?”

His words draw my gaze to the oak tree in

the far corner of the yard. The ladder they built still sits there

as well as the frame, but they never finished it.

“Why are you here, Wesley?”

“You cried harder than I did,” he says not

answering my question. “I never understood why. I was seventeen so

you were only twelve.”

“What is the point of this walk down memory

lane? I have places to be.”

I vividly remember that day. It was the

first time I realized I loved Wesley. I was terrified that he

wouldn’t be okay no matter what my parents said. I won’t be telling

him that, though.

He stares at me until I face him. “I’m

sorry.”

“Great.”

“No, Karmen, I need you to listen to me,” he

says seriously. “I am sorry. You deserve someone that can give you

the world. You should be with someone that can make you happy.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Wesley. I know

now that I need to grow up and start living a real life, not some

fairy tale I’ve conjured in my mind.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“You can’t choose who you fall in love with,

Wes. It’s not your fault.”

Standing, I walk into my childhood home

before the first tear slips down my cheek. I swore I was done

crying over Wesley Blake and someday I will be. But today is not

that day.

****

Wesley Blake

I sit on the porch until the sun sets and a

million stars dot the night sky. I should probably head to the bar

to make sure no one is fucking anything up, but I can’t seem to

force myself to get up.

Adam has been sitting beside me for the

better part of an hour. He hasn’t spoken a single word, but I know

he is dying to say something.

My phone rings and I ignore it. Once, twice,

three times. I know it isn’t the one person I want to speak to, so

it doesn’t matter who is calling. Then Adam’s phone rings, snapping

me out of my stupor.

“Shane, how can I help you?”

He listens to our brother before hurriedly

standing. “I’m with Wesley. We’re on our way.”

“What’s going on?” I ask.

The look of fear on my brother’s face has my

blood running ice cold.

“We need to go to the hospital. Mom had a

heart attack.”

He is already walking away from me, striding

toward his car. It takes me a split-second to process his words

before I run after him. He is already backing out of the drive when

I jump in the passenger seat.

Adam drives like a crazy man, his hazards

flashing as he speeds through the sleepy streets of Severn. It’s

only a ten-minute drive to the hospital on the outskirts of town

but it feels like a lifetime has passed by the time we are striding

through the automated glass doors.

The moment I see Shane I know we are too

late.

“She’s gone,” he says, and I watch in slow

motion as Adam’s legs give out and he crumples to the pale blue

linoleum floor.

Adam is the youngest and the only one of us

still living at home. This is bound to hit him the hardest. My

heart cracks open as I watch my little brother sob, knowing there

is nothing I can do for him. Shane and I help him up and lead him

to a chair against the wall. None of us speak but we all know life

will never be the same.