Page 82 of When We Are Complete

To me, it’s so simple. I’m here for her and I love her. I don’t know how to make her see that. “Kelly, look around,” I say, getting more desperate. “You need to accept that there’s nothing you can do.”

Her eyes flash with anger and hurt. I take a step toward her, but she takes a mirror step back.Fuck. Why won’t she listen? “I want to help you. I’ll fix this for you. I promise.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t need your help. I can handle this myself. I’ve been doing it on my own for a long time.”

I glance up at the sky, where dark clouds are gathering fast. We need to get inside. I take a steadying breath. What she needs right now is stability. Calm. “You can push me away, but I’m not going anywhere.”

Overhead, the snow thickens. The wind picks up, whipping the frozen strands of Kelly’s hair into a frenzied dance.

Nature itself is conspiring to bring us to our knees, to break us.

Chapter 47

Kelly

Jake stares at me,the moment lengthening. My gaze snags on the destroyed archway just a short distance away. The broken wood and scattered remnants of our work lie strewn across the field, half-buried under the relentless snowfall.

His jaw clenches, the muscles working beneath the stubble that shadows his face. I expect a storm to break from him too, but when he speaks, his voice is steady. “I mean it. I’m not going without you.”

His eyes are dark, sincere, and it takes everything I have not to dive into them. That would just prove how weak I really am. Show how I’m falling apart over a damn storm, when it’s so simple and easy for everyone else.

My fingers curl into fists, the cold biting through my gloves.

Don’t cry, Kelly. Strong girls don’t cry.

Jake’s eyes are on me. It’s almost unbearable, this silent kindness he offers so easily. He has no idea. No idea what’s happening under the surface. And he’s not the kind of man whocouldeverunderstand. For him, life is black and white. Fix things. Build them. Get it done.

And in his eyes, I’m that girl he used to know. One who shone so bright.

The truth hits me, cold and sharp, and I can barely breathe past it. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I will always fall short. I’ve been holding myself together by sheer will, pretending I can do this, that I can be the person everyone expects me to be. But it’s a lie.

And Jake’s just not ready for that version of Kelly.

Jake purses his lip slightly, tiny flecks of snow catching on the stubble of his strong jaw. “Listen. We’ll rebuild. The storm hit hard, but we’ll get it back on track. We just have to take it one step at a time.”

I shake my head. “You don’t get it. This isn’t something you can just fix. This was on me. It was all on me.”

His steadiness is unbearable, a reminder of everything I’m not. I pull in a shaky breath, my eyes fixed on the snow beneath my feet. I need to be as far away from him as possible so I can fall apart all alone. “I’m sorry. I just— I can’t do this. I have to be by myself right now.”

His gaze searches my face, trying to understand. “You don’t have to shut me out like this. We’re better together.”

I look up, my voice slipping into a distant tone. I just want him gone. “No. We’re not better together. Please leave.”

“I can’t leave you.”

All the tension, all the fear and shame and exhaustion, coils inside me, a spring twisted to breaking point. My heart races, pounding against the walls I’ve tried so hard to build.

A scream builds in my throat, pressing against my ribs, clawing its way out. I need him gone. I need him to stop looking at me like that, with all that care and certainty, as if I can hold myself together just because he believes I can.

He has no idea. No one does.

I don’t want him here, don’t want anyone here to see me unravel, to witness how much of a lie my strength really is.

The words burst out, the only option so he’ll finally go: “It’s over, Jake. Just leave—please.”

His face goes slack, the hurt flashing in his eyes so quickly I almost wish I could take it back. But I can’t. I need to be alone. I need to protect myself, stop him from seeing the ugly side of me about to break through.

I force a swallow over the dry of my throat. “I’m sorry, but this was a mistake. All of it. We never should have started over. I need you to go. I need to be alone.”

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