to prove him wrong. “It’s not that…” he repeated, licking his dry lips. “It’s just…my mom wants me home early and…”
But that wasn’t true, and they knew it, and Max knew they knew it, too.
“Let’s turn back,” Conor began to say. “Better not to walk through the rain, anyway –”
“I’ll play,” Max interrupted, standing up, barely reaching Conor’s shoulders standing as straight as he was. “I’ll play, Conor, I’m fine to, I promise.”
Conor studied him for a moment while the others looked to him for the final say.
Max would find a safe place to hide, like always, and while Conor didn’t feel like playing much, he wasn’t going to take the fun away from Dom and Jem.
Ultimately, he stiffened a nod. “Okay. Let’s rock, paper, scissor who goes first.”
Chapter Two
Thames
It had just gotten dark when he got to Blackwater. Those few hours of silence were a blessing. Nothing but the wind in his ear and the soft hum of the car wheels against the asphalt.
He was exhausted. Every inch of him ached for sleep, for the promise of darkness to ease this maddening pulse he felt in his soul. He knew he wouldn’t make it back to the city tonight. He hardly had enough money for a night at the shadiest motel, but none of that mattered.
He had to settle the shakes. He had to know she was okay, that after all this time she was still real. Because he couldn’t feel her. He hadn’t felt her in a while. The pain was self-inflicted. He wronged her by pushing her away, but even now he still felt convinced it had been the only way to save them both.
Blackwater was altered in a way, but it was also the same too. He cruised down familiar streets, the feeling of nostalgia not far off. He took the same route to his house with ease. Every night in prison he remembered the way, imagining the route like the back of his hand, and every single night in prison he found himself hovering outside the large door of his gargantuan house, waiting to see the face that answered.
Sometimes he couldn’t see Charlotte clearly. Sometimes he wondered if he was filling in the blanks all wrong. It had frightened him when he began to forget the fine edges of her face, when he began to question how raised her cheekbones were, or just how dark her hair was.
Remembering wasn’t the hard part, he realized, it was forgetting.
He was getting twitchy by the time he drew closer. His hand clenched the steering wheel harder when he recognized the deserted land he chased down Billy in. He swallowed hard as he inched down the street now, passing neighbouring house after neighbouring house. Finally, he braked, coming to a slow stop in front of the very house he cherished her in.
Only…he stilled, feeling tremors course through him as he gaped in shock. It took him a long time to process what he was staring at.
His heart dropped.
His blood ran cold.
It was gone.
All of it.
Replacing his house was a mountain of rubble and dirt.
What in the fuck?
He felt lightheaded as he blazed across town, heading straight in the direction of Jem’s bar. It was closer than his mother’s house, and he needed answers. He needed to know she was okay. He needed to understand why the fuck his house was burned down and why it looked like it had been destroyed a long time ago.
He was queasy by the time he turned into the parking lot of the bar. He was shaking everywhere, it physically hurt. The car was parked sideways in the crowded lot, and he hadn’t even locked the door when he hurried out. He stormed into the bar, vaguely noticing how completely unchanged it was. The place was packed with unfamiliar people, new residents, new drunks, new smiling faces, but the warm atmosphere was just the same.
Feeling like his head was spinning, Thames scanned every face, searching for one he recognized. He gaped at every waitress, at one point stopping mid-step when one held the similar body shape of his beloved. The immediate reaction was almost too much to bear. He nearly bent over right there on the spot. The waitress turned and it was not her, and he wasn’t sure whether he felt relief or disappointment.
Thames forced his way further into the room, feeling more and more uneasy. Thoughts of her in that house as it burned fucked with his mind. He might have puked