If You Leave: The Beautifully Broken Series: Book 2 by Courtney Cole

Author:Courtney Cole [Cole, Courtney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781455582266
Amazon: 1455582263
Publisher: Forever
Published: 2013-08-05T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Madison

I wake up from my nap, finding myself alone. I sigh, then stretch. A glance at my clock tells me that I’ve been asleep for an hour and a half. I rarely nap at all, so I must’ve been exhausted.

As my head clears I remember the flood. I leap from the bed and race to the living room windows, staring outside.

The water has made its way up to the wall of sandbags, and is lapping against it. For now, the sandbags are doing their job.

“It’s going to be fine,” Gabriel says from behind me. “It’s holding nice and tight. As long as the water goes down in the next couple of days, it should be good.”

I turn around. Like always, I think I could stare at him forever. He’s not perfect in a male-model kind of way. He’s perfect in a rugged, sexy-as-hell kind of way. Masculine. Powerful. Strong.

“What?” he asks curiously as I stare. I shake my head.

“Nothing. Did you find things to do while I took a nap?”

Gabe nods as we head into the kitchen. “Yeah. I got turned around a few times. A few minutes ago, I think I found my way into your parents’ room.”

My gut immediately clenches, a stupid and extreme reaction to something so simple. I keep their door closed for a reason but obviously Gabe didn’t mean to intrude.

“No big deal,” I tell him airily, pretending to be casual. “No harm done. Did you close the door when you came out?”

Please have closed the door. I don’t want to see in there.

Gabriel stares at me, curiosity in his dark eyes, like he can see through me.

“Yeah, I did. Maddy, their room looks like it must’ve looked the day they died. Your dad’s boots are still by the door, caked in mud.”

He pauses, staring at me. I stare back. “And?”

Gabe shrugs. “It’s not my business. I was just curious. I wasn’t judging.”

I know he wasn’t. Just as I know it’s weird that I’ve left their room untouched. But grief does weird things to a person. So does guilt. I honestly just wanted to close their door and not think about it. Or them.

“I know it’s weird,” I tell him. “I can’t explain it. Even to myself, really.”

Even though it’s been four years.

Gabe stares at me again, his dark eyes softening. I see sympathy in them. “Want to go for a walk on the beach?” he asks.

I nod. I throw a pair of shorts on and we make our way out my back door and down the path and spill out onto the beach. The air is cool and I can feel the moisture in it—both from the lake and from the flooding around us.

Overhead, sea gulls circle and cry.

In front of us, Lake Michigan crashes hard against the shore, disturbed by the recent storms. I know that if we walked down to the nearest public beach, the red flags would be flying… a symbol that the current is dangerous.

“Why didn’t I ever see you in the summers?” I ask Gabe.

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