Page 63 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

ipped my hand into his. "I'd like that," I whispered as I stared out at the crater in front of me. Breathtaking. It was breathtaking.

He squeezed my hand back in response.

Tyler was right. Looking at it made me feel so small. There must be something more out there. Something that made all this. And something after this. I wasn't really sure why, but I started to cry silent tears.

We both stood there in silence as we stared out at the abyss.

"Hails."

I looked up at him.

With his hand that wasn't holding mine, he reached up and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. He didn't ask me why I was crying. He didn't really need to. It just felt like Tyler got me. And the look on his face said it all. He looked concerned. He looked worried about me. With him, it didn't feel like my biggest fear could come true. I could never be alone if he was with me. But he wasn't going to be with me. I turned my head to look back out at the scenery.

I was crying because my dad might never get to see it. He might never touch the ocean. It wasn't fair. Life was so cruel. Tyler had opened up to me. He had let me see a vulnerable side of him. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell him my worries and fears if he was going to cut me out in a couple days. It was already going to hurt too much. Telling him about my dad would make it more painful when we had to say goodbye. Why the hell did we have to say goodbye?

Instead of pressing the issue, he stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around me. We both stared out in front of us. I didn't want to be crying. What I wanted was to scream and throw things into the canyon. I wanted to not give up on Tyler before we had even had a chance to try. I took a deep breath. There was no reason to dwell on it. If he didn't want whatever this was to continue after Friday, there wasn't anything I could do about it. All I could do was have fun the next couple days and see if he still felt the same way. I wasn't pathetic. I wasn't going to beg him.

"It's going to be okay, Hails."

I closed my eyes. The moment was too perfect. For some reason, I couldn't have Tyler's arms around me and see something so beautiful at the same time. It was sensory overload. And I'd rather focus on Tyler's arms. Who was I kidding? I was pathetic. I wanted to cling to him because I loved the feeling he gave me. That anything was possible. It was childish and naive. And fleeting. It's not like I was actually in love with him or anything. That would be crazy. Besides, he was in love with someone else.

It'll be okay? No, it fucking wouldn't. I shrugged out of his arms and stepped to the edge until my toes were actually sticking off the side. And I screamed. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I screamed because I was frustrated with Tyler. Because I was worried I was going to lose my dad. And because I was terrified of actually getting to Pasadena and facing my fears. I knew people were staring at me. But I didn't care. God, this felt good. I balled my hands into fists and screamed again.

I thought Tyler might say something. That he might be embarrassed of me. It would be a normal reaction to some girl you just met screaming at nothing. But I didn't care about the onlookers. Let them judge me. Let them see me scream.

What I didn't expect was for Tyler to step up right beside me and scream too.

"Wow, that feels good," he said. And then he screamed again even louder.

People started stepping away from us.

I laughed and grabbed his hand again. Together we both screamed as loud as we could, letting our pain and fears echo off the dips and valleys of the canyon.

"Feel better?" he asked.

I smiled up at him. "So much better. Come on." I pulled him back toward the car. "I think I want to go to Vegas after all."

"Yeah?"

If it delayed getting to Pasadena by one day, then absolutely. I didn't look back at the Grand Canyon. I felt like I had thrown my worries, fears, frustrations, and insecurities into it. It was now a pit of everything I wanted to offload. And now I needed to move on. No more looking back. I was only looking forward.

Chapter 34

Tyler

Wednesday

"There is no way in hell that I'm wearing that," Hailey said as she stared at the red dress I was holding up.

I laughed. "If we're going to Vegas, we should do it right." I tossed it at her.

"Why does doing Vegas right mean I have to dress like a hooker and you get to wear that."

I pulled on the lapels of the $20 suit I had just picked out from the thrift store. "I can't help it that I look good in everything." I winked at her.

She rolled her eyes.

"Plus...I'm paying," I said.

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