Page 23 of Tattered Souls
See, the storm that had blown in was horrible.
A lightning bolt had struck the main generator.
Sending sparks.
And one of those sparks had hit some oil, and then theSolace, the oil rig that my brother worked at, started to go up in flames.
***
I went to the hospital to see Carter.
I flew my brother’s things back home.
I picked out a casket to be buried... that would be empty.
I picked out his headstone.
And I stood there, at his grave site, trying not to fall apart.
All the while I had done all of this by myself.
Lance’s exact words were,“He wasn’t my brother. Why do I care?”
I saw someone move, and then Lance was shoved out of the way, and I was in someone’s arms.
Someone I had done my very freaking best not to allow myself to be around too much.
Because I was drawn to him.
And I wasn’t good enough for him.
I stood there, watching as the man went on about my brother, and tried like hell to hold it all in.
I could feel it. Could feel my strength waning.
Because there was no one to wrap their arms around me and give me their strength.
But then... Garrick was there... he had me in his arms, and he whispered in my ear, “Lean on me, Tatum. Lean on me. I got you.”
***
I had to move out of the apartment after Granger passed. My name wasn’t on the lease.
Thankfully, Harlee had offered me her old house to stay in while I figured things out, and since she had moved in with Carter.
***
Because of the way Lance had acted at his funeral and the way he had been, I was slowly pulling away from him.
He knew it and didn’t like it.
But frankly, I didn’t give a damn.
He had told me he loved me.
Time and time again.
But if he had, he wouldn’t have let me stand there at Granger’s funeral alone.
