I nod, unsure of why he’s saying this to me. “I know.”
Present Day
I stand at my dad’s gravesite with the few people he called his friends. He was always a little bit of a loner, never venturing out much once his health started declining, and he began drawing disability. The people here with me today are people who have known him for years, ever since I was a kid.
George Arnold passes me a tissue, and I dab at the tears that are threatening to fall. My dad’s heart attack wasn’t exactly a shock since he’d been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, but it doesn’t make saying goodbye to him any easier.
For almost five years, it’s only been the two of us. My brother, Hunter, never returned home after leaving for work. We’ve barely even spoken to each other over the years. Every once in a while, I would see a letter from him, but it was always addressed to Dad, and he would tell me Hunter didn’t have much to say, just updating him on his job.
The brother I was once so close with pretty much cut me out of his life. It used to sadden me, but then I suppose I accepted it and let him go. For whatever reason, he wanted a different life and chose not to have me be a part of it.
I did call him and tell him about our dad, but he never responded. That’s his MO. Years ago, I messaged him to see if Jake, the guy I was hung up on when I was a teenager, had shown up where he was, but he never responded to those messages either.
My heart still hurts when I think of Jake Presley. I was head over heels in love with him and there wasn’t a single thing in this world I wouldn’t have done for him. It’s strange how one night with a person can linger. How our hearts won’t allow us to completely forget someone. I should have moved on a long time ago, but every time I date another man, I see Jake.
I tell myself it’s because I have no closure. I have no idea who called him that night or where he went. It crossed my mind that it was Hunter, but then I convince myself if it were, one of them would’ve told me. They wouldn’t have kept me in the dark like that all these years. I even tell myself that if I had these answers, I wouldn’t be this shell of a woman, pining after a man I’ll never see again.
“He was a good man, Skylar,” George tells me, and I nod.
My dad and George used to play checkers every Saturday afternoon on our porch. I would make them sweet tea and cookies before I left for work. Now that porch has a foreclosure sign in front of it.
My childhood home is being auctioned off this very week. I don’t dwell on the rest of the memories that house holds. I don’t think about Hunter and Jake playing video games in the living room or the three of us sneaking into the kitchen to eat an entire chocolate cake together. I sure as hell don’t want to think about what happened in my bedroom the night of my twenty-first birthday.
He’s gone, and he isn’t coming back.
Now that I’m losing the house, it’s time I figure out what the hell to do with my life. At least with me being a nurse, I can pretty much find a job anywhere. It’s a home I need, and the small town I live in is limited on rental properties. I don’t even have any money in savings at the moment. I was pouring every cent I earned into dad’s bank account to make ends meet.
George pats my shoulder, and the preacher, Henry, comes to shake my hand. I give him a light smile.
“Thank you for doing the service,” I say. “It was perfect.”
“Of course, Skylar,” he replies. “I want you to know we all think it’s just terrible that you’re losing the house. It isn’t much, but the church has taken up a special offering for you to help you get back on your feet. Maybe it can be a down payment on a rental property for you or a trailer at least. You use it however you see fit.”
He pulls an envelope out of his pocket and hands it to me. Part of me says I shouldn’t take it, but the other part of me, the rational side, says I have no place to go. I can’t afford much, and I have to get my things out of the house today. Everything is already boxed up, and what I leave behind will be lost to me.
“Thank you,” I say. “This is truly a blessing.”
Henry gives me a hug, and we both startle at the sound of engines roaring into the cemetery. He releases me, and we watch as a group of men on motorcycles approach the gravesite. I frown, curious as to why these men would crash my dad’s funeral when I realize the man leading the bikers is my brother.
Hunter pulls his bike to a stop, and the men behind him follow suit, but they stay seated while he gets off and comes to me. Over the past few years, Hunter has changed. He’s not the same blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy I grew up with.
His eyes don’t hold the same brightness they used to. His once slender but fit frame is now bulky with muscles, and those muscles are inked with tattoos. I hardly even recognize him.
“Sis, it’s been a long time,” he says, his voice gruff.
He doesn’t attempt to enclose me in a hug the way siblings do after a long absence. He doesn’t even crack a smile or appear to be friendly.
“You should’ve stayed gone, Hunter,” I say cruelly. “I didn’t need you then, and I don’t need you now.”
He glances over his shoulder at the men behind him and then turns back to me. “You do need me, Skylar. You have nowhere else to go. You lost our home.”
Our? I shove him. “And whose fault is that? When you left, you said it was so you could take care of dad and me! You didn’t do anything!”
His brow furrows, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he almost looks confused. “I sent you two money every fucking month! I didn’t even know you were losing the house until I got your message!”
“Oh, you got that message, huh? What about all the other times I contacted you?” I accuse.
“It was best if you stayed here,” he replies. “But the only way I can take care of you now is to have you come with me.”
“Screw you!” I scream at him, stomping off.
“I know where Jake is!” he calls after me, and I stop dead in my tracks.
I blink back tears, unwilling to let him see how easily he’s gotten to me. When I turn around, my face is void of emotion.
“That’s great,” I say. “I hope the two of you have been very happy together.”
The men behind him chuckle, and he shoots them a look, silencing them. “Your stuff is already being loaded into one of our vans. You have no fucking home and no place to go, Skylar. Get on the damn bike.”
He’s right, and I know it. He fucking knows it. The small amount of money the church donated to me won’t last me very long, and I don’t want to blow it by staying at a hotel.
I reluctantly walk over to him and accept the helmet he offers me from the back of his bike. Luckily, I opted to wear dress pants instead of a skirt today, so I have no issue throwing my leg over and taking a seat. I sadly look over at George and Henry and give them a small wave, letting them know I’m going to be alright.
At least if I go with him, I’ll get answers on where the hell Jake has been the past five years. From the looks of the men my brother is with, he won’t be the same man who left me before.
I down another shot, placing my empty glass back on the bar. Allie, the daytime bartender, looks over to me to see if I need another refill, but I shake my head.