Page 91 of The Air He Breathes (Elements 1)

“Everything’s fine. Everything’s good.”

I raised an eyebrow. “We should talk. I know you’re probably upset because I’ve been avoiding you…”

“Have you?” He smirked. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Yeah, it’s just—”

He started wiping off the counter. “That your husband killed my family? Yeah, no, that’s cool.”

“What?” My throat tightened and my ears rang as I replayed the words that had just left his mouth. “How did you…?”

“Your best friend Tanner stopped in for a bit yesterday. He wanted to, you know, try to talk Mr. Henson into closing his shop. So then he and I had a talk. He thought it was sweet how I was able to look past the fact that, you know, your husband killed my family.”

“Tristan.”

He placed the rag down on the counter, stood across from me, and leaned in. “How long have you known?”

“I—I wanted to tell you.”

“How long?”

“Tris…I didn’t know…”

“Dammit, Elizabeth!” he shouted, slamming his fist down. Emma and Mr. Henson turned toward us with looks of curious concern. He was quick to usher Emma into the back room. “How long? Did you know when you told me you loved me?”

I stayed quiet.

“Did you know at the wedding?”

My voice shook. “I thought…I thought I would lose you. I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

He smiled a tight grin and nodded. “Awesome. That will be two dollars and twenty cents for the hot cocoa.”

“Let me explain.”

“Two-twenty, Elizabeth.”

His stormy eyes were cold once again. There was a coldness I hadn’t seen in his stare since the first day I’d met him. I reached into my pocket, pulled out some change, and placed it in front of me. Tristan picked up the money and tossed it into the cash register.

“We’ll talk later this week,” I said, my voice shaky. “If you let me, I’ll explain everything the best I can.”

His back was to me, and he gripped the countertop by the coffee machines. His head lowered, and I could see how red his hands were turning from his tight hold. “You need anything else?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then by all means, stay the fuck out of my life.” Tristan dropped his hold on the counter, called for Zeus, who came running out toward him, and then the two of them left the store, the overhead bell sounding their exit. Mr. Henson and Emma came out from the back room.

“What happened?” Mr. Henson asked, walking over to me. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, but it didn’t stop my shaking body.

“I think I just lost him.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Tristan

April 7th, 2014

Goodbye