Page 20 of Letters From a Broken Heart
Easton’s hands slowly slip down my body until he’s gripping my thighs, then he lifts me into the air and I don’t hesitate to wrap my legs around his waist. I hold onto him like he’s going to slip through my fingers if I don’t. I’ve never been so thankful I chose to wear dress pants instead of a dress today.
“Holy crap, I’ve never had anyone hold on so tightly.” He chuckles. “You’re going to break my ribs.”
I loosen my grip on him slightly, feeling bad that I might’ve hurt him. He has one arm under my butt, keeping me up, and the otheris around my back, holding me close. He tightens the one on my back and makes me feel so cherished.
“I was joking, Tay. You can hold on as tightly as you want to. I don’t even care if you do break a rib or two. I’ve always dreamed of being able to hold you like this, I'm not going to complain now that I can do it.”
Chapter 10
Easton
Carrying Taylor over to my SUV, I open the passenger’s door and set her on the seat, but she still won’t loosen her hold on me.
“Sweetheart, you need to let go sooner or later.” Rubbing a hand up and down her back, I try to sooth her, but at this point I'm not sure if she’s upset because she’s numb or if she’s finally reacting to Jack being buried.
I won't be upset if she’s crying over Jack. I can't change the past and they dated for a long time. Even if they hadn’t dated, they were best friends. She’s going to be destroyed over the loss of him. It doesn’t matter what choices he made and how they hurt her.
“I don’t want to,” she murmurs. “I never want to let go.”
“Hey, look at me.” I pull back and force her to stay in place. When there’s the smallest amount of space between us, I grip her chin between my thumb and forefinger, lifting until she’s staring into my eyes. “I'm not leaving you, beautiful. I'm just getting usout of this cemetery. Can I get in the driver’s seat, then you can hold my hand?”
“You promise?” Her eyes are so blue right now they almost don’t look real. She always looks like this when she cries.
“Of course.” I lift her hand to my lips and press a soft kiss to each knuckle. I stare into her eyes for a few seconds until she nods her head.
After making sure she’s all the way inside the car, I shut her door and jog around to my side. As soon as I'm seated, she reaches for my hand and intertwines our fingers.
“Do you want to go to the lunch or do you want to go home?”
“I feel like we need to go,” she whispers.
“We don’t need to do anything you don’t want to do, sweetheart. My parents will understand.”
She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. I don’t want to push her one way or the other. She needs to make this decision herself.
“Can we go for a little bit? Then will you stay with me tonight?”
“Of course. I’ll just have to stop at my house to get some clothes, unless you want to stay at my place.”
I shift the car into drive and move slowly through the cemetery. I’m not in a hurry to get to the lunch. I think we both need a little bit of time to get our heads on straight before we face my family and Jack’s friends again.
I can't for the life of me understand why Jack would cheat on Taylor. She’s perfect. Everything you could ever want in a girlfriend. How was she not enough for him? What could this other girl possibly have that Taylor doesn’t? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
“How’d you find out?” I ask softly. I'm sure she doesn’t want to talk about it, but I need to know. I can't imagine someone just telling her.
“There were two girls there. One of them, Cassy, was talking about me and saying a bunch of crap. According to her, Jack was on the way to see her when he crashed. If he hadn’t been cheating on me, he might still be alive.”
“Do you know them?”
“Not at all. If I hadn’t been standing outside the bathroom, I never would’ve known the truth.”
“I'm so sorry, Tay.”
She stares down at her hands and doesn’t say anything else. My mind whirls with what would’ve happened if Jack had lived, but Taylor didn’t get a heart in time. I feel like a jerk, but I’m not sure I could survive without Taylor in my life.
“What are you thinking about?” She peeks up at me.
“Nothing I really want to voice? I’d sound like a jerk.”
