Page 62 of Angels and Skulls
We shoot back the whiskey, and he refills the glass. The next toast is to his sister.
I’m not sure how many we make, but the night moves slowly as we laugh and joke. I listen with enthusiasm, just like I used to do with Bill, soaking in every story I can. I’ve missed this, having another voice to listen to besides my own. Having a friend.
Dirk helps me stand, and I fall against him. He scoops me up. “You are a lightweight.”
“I tried to warn you,” I say, closing my eyes as he lays me on my bed.
He leaves me there but returns a few seconds later with the small trash can from my bathroom and a glass of water. When he sets it on the nightstand, his hand pauses mid-air.
My gaze follows his.
“Bill left it in my mailbox the last time he was here. I always wondered if he somehow knew it would be the last time.”
“You weren’t jealous of her?” he asks, setting the water down and picking up the framed picture of Jackson and his parents.
“No. She’s one of my angels,” I slur, my eyelids falling closed no matter how hard I try to keep them open.
I feel his hand press against the side of my face before sleep pulls me under.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Raffe
Ahand wraps over my mouth, and a warm body drops on top of mine. My eyes fly open, connecting with dark stormy orbs. He stares at me, and my heart slows. Jesus, this fucker can still scare the shit out of me.
Slowly, his hand leaves my mouth, but he doesn’t lift himself off of me. “Did you love her?” he simply asks.
My gaze bounces over his face, and I give him the honest truth. “There are two matching sets of eyes, yours and Rachel’s, and they anchor me to this world. I’ve loved them both.”
When his head falls to mine, a light goes off in my brain. Fuck. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own pain that I’ve failed to see anyone else’s. He’s hurting.
I wrap my hand over the back of his head. “I’m sorry she’s gone, Dirk.”
We stay like this for a few seconds before he pulls away, falling beside me on the bed.
“I went to see Jenny,” he finally says after several minutes.
The way my heart accelerates makes me concerned I might be having a heart attack.
“I watched her with Jackson and his family. They spent the entire afternoon outside, eating and playing.”
“You stalked them?”
He doesn’t respond, and I guess he doesn’t have to. It’s obvious.
“I wanted to hate her.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s alive and Rachel isn’t,” he admits honestly.
Dirk has always been honest with me. I think that’s why I’ve always felt so safe with him. I don’t want to sound too curious, but I want to know about their visit.
“Did …” I take a deep breath. “Do you think it went well?”
“Aspen fell in love with her.” Again, he’s honest, even though I hear the anguish in his voice that his sister never got to meet her granddaughter. “They sat in the grass together and weaved two crowns of flowers, one for each of them.”
I can see it in my mind’s eye without even being there.
