Page 84 of The Vengeance You Crave

He climbs to his feet and stares down at me.

"So?"

"I'll follow you in a bit."

He nods, taking a step back. "You'd better."

I nod and watch as he pushes a branch aside and walks away. Just before he's out of sight, I call out.

"Yeah?" he calls back.

"Thank you."

"I gotta be useful for something, right?"

"Lee, I… I really appreciate it."

"I know, bro. Just make it right, yeah. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't at least try. Sometimes, we've just got to let go of the past."

His words are laced with pain but he's gone before I get to say anything about it. I guess whatever it is he's kept covered up all these years is going to remain in the lockbox he keeps it in.

With a sigh, I fall back onto my palms and take in the view of the glistening blue ocean in the distance.

This used to be our place. A little bit of paradise for when we needed some peace from school or our parents.

Twisting around, I look at the spot on the tree behind me that Leon was looking at.

The letters P and L are carved deep into the trunk surrounded by a heart.

Climbing to my feet, my head continues to spin as I stare at my really bad knife skills.

I remember the day we did this. I truly believed it would be us together forever against the world back then. I never could have imagined that only weeks later we would be ripped apart.

With a loud exhale, I eventually pick up the bottles littered around my feet and make the walk back to my car.

I hadn't planned on sleeping out here last night. I didn't have a plan at all other than I needed to make it all stop, and the only place I could see that happening was at the bottom of a bottle.

I stop for food on the way home, shoving a burger into my mouth as I make the drive back to Maddison in the hope it soaks up whatever alcohol might be in my system. I probably shouldn't be driving right now, but I wasn't hanging around there any longer.

The house is quiet when I get back, I guess everyone is either in class or working out. That or acting like the easy-go-lucky off-season college students they are, unlike me.

It's not until I get to the third floor where mine and Leon's room are that I hear music playing from his.

I knock and push the door open before he calls out.

"Hey," I say, finding him at his desk working. "Not in class?"

"Nah, I'd have been late. I'll grab the notes off someone."

"Sorry, I—"

"Don't. It's okay, Luc. Whatever you need, yeah?"

"Yeah. I was actually going to see if you could do something for me tonight."

"Sure. What is it?"

I close his bedroom door behind me and drop down onto his bed.