From The First Verse - M. Robinson Page 0,65

darlin’, shhh ... it’s alright. I’m here ... shhh...”

The internal struggle he was battling was evident in his embrace, in his voice, in the way he was trying to comfort me.

For a split second, I lost my train of thought, blurting, “I know why you left.”

He instantly froze, and I realized what I just said. Feeling like the world’s biggest idiot for throwing it out there like that. There was no taking it back, no rewording, no time for me to recover. The only thing left was to tell him everything I knew and hope it would help him.

All I wanted to do was help him.

“I shouldn’t have left my phone behind. I should have been more careful. I didn’t know she’d be calling.” I pulled away, needing to look into his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Cash.” Our stares never wavered from each other as I told him the truth. “I know. I’ve always known.”

He didn’t respond. I didn’t even think he was breathing.

“No one told me. No one had to. I knew it the first time I met her, holding her in the hospital right after she was born. She was you, Cash McGraw.”

He grimaced, his eyes brimming with fresh tears. Knowing where I was going with this. Even that didn’t stop me. I’d wanted to tell him this since the second I laid eyes on him. I was surprised I held it in this long.

In my mind, I practiced for years on how to share this with him. Except, it didn’t matter. Nothing could’ve prepared me for this moment in time. Being in his arms, in his space, in his world, it was so much more than I ever thought it would be.

It was everything.

He was everything.

Despite the sadness in his expression, his eyes were screaming at me to keep going and not hold back.

“She has your eyes,” I continued, finding the strength from somewhere deep inside of me. “Your smile. Your laugh. I swear she has this ability to make everyone love her without even trying. She’s the sweetest little girl with a huge heart and the most beautiful soul. She’d understand, Cash. If she knew the truth, she’d forgive you.”

Tears streamed down his face, one right after the other.

“I figured it out on my own. It was easy to connect the dots. You don’t talk to Harley. You don’t talk to anyone from back home. You’ve completely isolated yourself from your family. From the people who love you. From me.”

My heart was breaking. I could physically feel him crumbling.

I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

I wouldn’t.

He needed to hear the truth of what he punished himself for.

“Everyone makes mistakes. Nobody is perfect. It’s what you do to fix the errors of your ways that make you human. I don’t know what happened between you and Harley, but whatever it was, I know you did what you thought was best. My brother loves her with every last part of his soul. He always has. But it doesn’t change the fact that you can love her just as much. Come home with me, Cash.”

He bowed his head, and I grabbed his face.

“I’ve tried to show her who you are ... through music. She loves your music. Johnny Cash, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, she knows them all. From the first verse, ’til the last lyric. I gave her a huge part of you. She deserves it. She deserves to know you. Not once did Jackson or Harley stop me. Not once did they argue. Not once did they say anything about it. I swear, they know I know, and I believe a big part of them wanted her to have you.”

More tears slid out of his eyes, crushing my heart further.

“She’s why you drink, right? The drugs? The running away? It’s Bailey. You’re running from her?”

He tried to yank his face out of my tight grasp.

“No! You will listen to me.” There was no hesitation in my voice. “I came for you. It wasn’t Lars. It was you.”

Our eyes locked again, however this time his showed a glimmer of hope.

“Yeah, that’s right. I came for you. Because she needs you. Harley needs you. Your mom, your sisters, your dad... We all need you. Do you understand me? You can’t run from this anymore. Are you hearing me?”

He shook his head no and closed his eyes.

“Come home with me, Cash. Please, just come home with me. I know everything will be okay if you just come with me.”

He gripped onto my body tighter