Page 73 of Into the Mountains
His web and mine are looking very similar at the moment and I wonder if us being together would finally untangle them or if it would turn into one huge knot impossible to be undone.
“Turns out, he left me the house. Since Mom is in jail, she didn’t have much of a say in the matter. When I went back there with Sarah my junior year in college, she helped me clean it up and get it ready to sell. Of course, my dad couldn’t have left it in a shittier state. It took days to clean it. His last piece of revenge against me. One more mess for me to clean up after him. And I haven’t been back since.”
He uncrosses and crosses his legs, struggling to sit still.
“Are you okay?” Hudson asks. Where there would normally be pity in a look after a sad story like that, behind his eyes is nothing but pure love and worry for his brother. That’s what Elias is to them. Not an in-law. Not even their sister’s husband anymore. He’s their family and knowing where he comes from, it makes sense that he changed his name to Waters after they got married. I’d jump at the chance if I were him too.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t talk about them a lot.” I put slight pressure on his hand to let him know that I understand; that revisiting the past isn’t something that is easy to do, especially if there’s a few monsters hiding in the closet waiting to scare you.
Without another word, he stands up and points to his tent. “I think I’m going to call it a night. I’m ready to go to sleep so I can see Ethan tomorrow.”
Tomorrow.
We all go back to Blue Grove. Back to a reality that rips us from our little bubble here. It wasn’t going to last long, we both knew that, but part of me enjoyed it all a little too much.
I think this team bonding trip worked out better than we all thought it would. Just in a different direction than I ever saw it going. The other couples excuse themselves and shuffle into their own tents, leaving me alone by the fire.
The fabric from the chair shifts along the back of my head as I lay back and close my eyes for a brief second. I try to focus on the night sounds around me, the water from the river, crickets and frogs singing their nightly lullaby, footsteps coming closer.
My eyes bolt open and I turn my head toward the direction of the sound. Elias is standing a few feet away with his hands held up in front of him. “Don’t shove me in the river again.”
“It’s not close enough, but you’re lucky you stayed over there.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because I could have easily shoved you into the fire.”
He places his hand on his heart like I’ve physically wounded him. “You’d actually push me onto the fire? And leave Ethan an orphan?” I smile at his dark humor and sarcasm. It’s welcome after the heavy conversation from a bit ago.
“I didn’t say I’d let you burn to death.”
“Oh just second degree burns then, got it.” He chuckles and then his gaze softens. Our eyes meet and I don’t want to see theemotion behind his eyes. I saw the same look when he told me he loved me. Before I left him and our relationship to rot in the past.
CHAPTER THIRTY
ELIAS
Tonight has been filled with emotions heavier than I care to deal with at the moment. It’s not often I talk about my parents in more detail than me cutting ties at eighteen. I usually don’t go past that, but something about everything that was shared tonight, I felt like I should at least be honest.
Standing next to the fire with Charlotte staring back at me, I feel a piece of me click back into place, but there’s still more work to do. “I’m sorry.”
She furrows her brow like she’s unsure why I’m apologizing to her. The dirt puffs out from underneath my knees as I kneel down in front of her. I gather her cold hands into mine and kiss her knuckles.
“With everything I talked about tonight, telling our story, my story, I realized I never actually said sorry for what I did. I was a stupid, idiotic, bumbling, freshman in college who was an idiot to listen to his friends. And I don’t regret listening to them, because it brought me back to you all those years ago.” He softly tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and traces the line of my jaw all the way to my chin, goosebumps cascading on my alreadychilled skin. “I’m just sorry I wasn’t honest with you from the beginning.”
“I’m sorry too.”
It’s my turn to give her a questioning look. “I’m sorry I kept you away.”
“You had every right—”
“Please,” she begs. “I didn’t have to be so cruel to you. You were, too, but getting back at you by never seeing me again even when my parents died wasn’t me. It’s not who I am and while I am glad I pushed you away so you could meet the love of your life and have Ethan, I am sorry.”
“You’re right.”
“Hold on, let me grab my phone,” she jokes.
“I did meet the love of my life and we had an amazing life together for as much time as we were allowed. But I think I’m learning that it’s okay to have two loves. No matter what you might think, I did love you then. I didn’t exactly tell you at the best time, but I did. That summer was everything to me.Youwere everything.”
