Page 37 of Chasing Forever

“That’s the best gift anyone has ever given me, Dandelion. And I’ll cherish it as long as I live.”

Chapter Twenty

Merritt

My heart was racing a million miles a second. I wiped my clammy palms on the legs of my jeans as I stared at the ominous building through my windshield, but it didn’t do any good. As soon as I was done, they were sweaty all over again.

My phone vibrated in the cup holder with an incoming text, jolting me out of my haze.

Tristan: You make it there okay?

I smiled, the stress that had been resting heavy on my shoulders all morning lessening as my thumbs moved over the screen, forming a reply.

Me: Made it safely. Just sitting in my car, trying to find the nerve to go in.

Those little dots at the bottom of the screen started bouncing immediately. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I waited for his response to pop up. Something had changed between us since that moment in Tristan’s car two days ago. It felt like our relationship had gone from platonic to something... more. He didn’t shy away from touching me, but it was different now. Now it was like there was a magnetic pull between us, drawing us closer whenever we were in the same room. He couldn’t seem to stay away from me, not that it bothered me in the slightest. Truth was, I couldn’t bring myself to stay away from him either. I didn’t want to.

I kept thinking back to when he’d grabbed my neck and pulled me close. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, and instead of being scared to death, I’d wanted it. I’d been dying for him to kiss me for a while, so when he pressed his forehead against mine instead, I was disappointed. And as each day passed since he didn’t kiss me, that disappointment grew.

The buzz of my phone brought me out of the memory.

Tristan: Remember what a dandelion symbolizes. You’re the strongest person I know, and I’m in awe of you every single day.

I don’t think he would ever understand how much his faith in me meant. When I told him what I planned to do, he’d asked if I wanted him to come with me. I appreciated the offer, but as much as I didn’t want to do this, I also knew it was something I needed to do by myself.

I glanced up at the building, at the chain link fences that wound around everything like a complicated maze, at the ominous razor wire looped along the top from end to end.

Despite the shining sun and the beautiful blue sky, the dull gray building and all that metal made everything seem dreary. This was the last place I wanted to be. But I had to do this. Not for myself, but for Levi. And the sooner I got it over with, the sooner I could get the hell out of there and back to my life. A life that was only getting better with every passing day. A life full of happiness.

The rules for getting into a prison were much more detailed than I would have thought, considering the guards spent their time trying to keep the prisoners in. I had to stand in a line with family members and loved ones of the other convicts. Visiting hours were limited, and because my brother had never been one to follow the rules, he’d been getting in his fair share of trouble, which resulted in him being thrown into solitary confinement regularly, so getting in to see him had been difficult.

This was the very last place I wanted to be, but I told myself I’d give him this one last consideration, one last chance, then I was done.

After having my personal belongings taken from me until I left and being searched, I made it into a big, open room with metal tables and stools that were bolted to the concrete floor and bars on all the windows. There was a guard posted at the door the visitors came through, and another at the door where the prisoners entered. A third guard wound through the tables, watching everything that was happening.

The metal seat was freezing when I sat, sending a chill up my spine. I pulled in a fortifying breath and clasped my hands together in my lap as I waited for Ozzy to come through the door. I started to worry maybe he wasn’t coming, when he finally stepped through. I sucked in a sharp gasp at my first look at him. He’d already been skinny, thanks to the heroine, but it was even worse now. He walked with a limp, and was sporting a swollen black eye that looked like it hurt like hell.

His hair hung limp over his forehead, and as I searched, I couldn’t find a single similarity between him and Levi. Despite the guilt, I couldn’t help but be thankful for that.

His good eye widened as soon as he saw me before narrowing into a glare. He moved to my table and plopped down on the stool across from me like it was an inconvenience to have to come and talk to me. I couldn’t possibly imagine what he had to do with his day that was more important.

“Took you long enough to come for a visit.”

My mouth opened and closed, then opened again. “I’m sorry. Have you been expecting me?” It wasn’t like he’d ever had any use for me before. My brother never had time for me unless he wanted to pawn his son off or hit me up for money.

“It’s not a stretch that you’d want to take the time to make sure your brother’s okay after he gets locked up. But I guess you’re too busy out there livin’ that fancy life of yours to give a shit about me,” he sneered.

My jaw dropped in shock. “My fancy life? Are you kidding me? Ozzy, the last time I saw you was when I came to say goodbye because I had to run from my abusive husband.”

His lips pursed. “Well it doesn’t look like you stayed gone for long. Guess you finally realized havin’ the money for all those nice clothes and the cushy house and shit was worth takin’ a couple hits.”

The pain and betrayal I felt at those callous words slammed into me so hard I thought I might actually fall off the stool. “I-I can’t believe you said that to me,” I whispered, a knot forming in my throat as my eyes began to burn.

His lifted a shoulder in an insolent shrug. “Hey, don’t blame me for thinkin’ it. You’re the one who came back.”

Something inside me snapped, and I jerked forward, banging my palm against the metal table loudly. “I came back to take care of your son! A son you haven’t bothered asking about, by the way.”

He waved me off and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m sure I’d have heard somethin’ if there was a problem.”

---