Heavy Is the Hurricane by Bethany Patrick

Author:Bethany Patrick [Patrick, Bethany]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-27T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

Istared out the window at the gray nothingness of dead foliage that lined the interstate as it passed by. The weather had made a seasonal turn for the worse, so I had bundled up in a heavy coat. Tove, on the other hand, wore only a long sleeve t-shirt. The heat pumping out of the vents didn’t even faze him. I had just turned the heat down for the second time and as soon as I angled my attention back out the passenger side window, Tove turned it back up.

I unbuckled my seat belt with a sigh, shrugging one sleeve of my coat off with a dramatic wave of my arm, before twisting in my seat to take off the other sleeve.

Tove’s mouth twisted into a sly grin, a quiet breath of a chuckle escaping, his eyes landing on my chest for a split second before looking back to the road.

“Seat belt on, Luv,” he offered in a fake stern voice.

Once disrobed, I flung my coat into the back seat.

“Asshole,” I responded in a mumble before returning my attention to the world outside the window.

We hadn’t said two sentences the entire drive, thus far. I had texted Rave this morning and told him I would meet him on Sunday night at the coffee shop. It felt like a neutral zone. I wasn’t sure what excuses he could possibly have for his behavior, but I definitely didn’t want to make it easier for him by having that discussion on his home turf.

It didn’t matter how many years had passed, every time I pulled into the Tovey’s driveway, it felt wrong to me not to pull into the adjacent driveway instead. I always tried my hardest not to glance at the house next door. And I always failed.

The colonial columns in front stood tall and strong even when the man who sketched them into existence when I was only three years old no longer stood at all. The landscaping was immaculate, the tree that I used to climb and hide in was pruned and bare. There were no holiday decorations on the front porch at all. My mom would have mums lining the grand stairs, colorful fall pillows scattered across the seating. It always felt like a home, warm and close. The curtains in the room that had been mine, were fully closed. I would have had them thrown wide open. Despite the differences, the house was still and would forever feel like my one true home. It would forever hold a painful reminder of what I no longer had.

“Tyla.”

I jumped at the sound of his soft breath, my skin prickling from the brush of his hand as it traveled from one shoulder, across the back of my neck and to the other shoulder. His big strong hand squeezed my shoulder and pulled me into his side.

“Come on, Luv.” Tove bent and pressed his nose into my hair. “Sometimes it hurts. To visit places you’ve been before. To be attacked by the memories,” he whispered.

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