Pieces of Summer (A stand-alone novel)(24)

Whit nods as I take a sip of my coffee.

“The bowling alley had always been our dream when we were growing up, trying to find a way to be together,” I go on. She knows I’m talking about Chase again. “When my brother called to find out if it was still empty, the realtor told him the price had been slashed. It was too good to pass up, so I bought it, then asked Hunter to turn it into our dream… My closure… He did everything via phone and internet, speaking with the contractors and such. Since he had Chase’s designs, he didn’t have to see the space to draw his up.”

“And the bald eagles? They’re everywhere. What’s the truth behind them?” she asks quietly.

This time, my tears do start to fall, and I swear more tears fill up in her eyes.

“Chase’s idea. Bald eagles mate for life. Most of the time, they return to the same nest every year and make it stronger, better, bigger… It was us. Come to find out, bald eagles mate for life, but not forever. When one dies, the other moves on like its heart isn’t broken the very next year.”

I clear my throat while shoving my coffee away. Everything tastes bitter right now.

She chews on her lip as more tears fall from her eyes.

“No wonder.”

“No wonder what?” I ask while averting my gaze.

“I chased Chase for a while. I even joked about it. The chase for Chase. Until a little over five months ago, he never acted interested. When he finally took me up on it, he made one thing very clear: The second I fell in love, it was over. He said he wasn’t that kind of guy. Guess it’s because he already found a love too rare to ever imitate.”

I snort derisively. “We were kids. He was a sweet kid back then. I was young and dramatic. Together we were incredible… Until we were toxic. Everything seems like it’s so much better when you’re a kid. Love like that doesn’t really exist, Whit.”

Her lips thin for a minute, until she speaks again. “Chase James was never a sweet kid. He was a bully, a menace, and an *. Compared to then, now he’s sweet—obviously he’s not actually sweet, but you get the idea. He used to punish people for looking at him wrong. He hung around with guys who were just the same. Most of them ended up in prison. Chase was the only one smart enough to calm down. He was a hellion and a fighter. Not a sweetheart, Mika. You had a different Chase than anyone else got to know.”

My heart thumps in my chest, but I ignore it. I always figured his friends were jerks, since none of them liked me too well or wanted Chase around me. I only ever met them briefly, and Chase kept me far away from them after that. It’s why he pretty much stayed at my house all summer. We rarely ever even went into town, unless we were going to check on his mother or grab something to eat.

We watched movies and went bowling in a completely different town.

“At this point, I don’t know what I should tell you or let you find out on your own, but I do think you two should sit down and talk. This thing between you isn’t over.”

Considering she’s his girlfriend, that’s an awkward thing to hear her say.

“If you knew the whole story, you wouldn’t be suggesting that.” Aidan’s harsh tone startles both of us, and I whip my head in his direction to see him shirtless and pissed. “Coming back here was a bad idea. Don’t start encouraging her to be around that son of a bitch,” he adds, glaring at Whit.

She frowns while studying him, then turns back to me.

“What else happened?”

I clear my throat while standing up. “Like I said, I was a dramatic teenager. Everything is better when you’re a kid. It’s also a lot worse.”

Downplaying everything and keeping it on topic is ideal. I glare at my brother as he takes the seat I vacated, and he glares back at me. Chase had nothing to do with what happened later on. It was never his fault.

It doesn’t stop Aidan from hating him with an intense passion…

I start to leave the kitchen, but Whit follows me, glancing back at my brother as he pulls out his phone.

“What were you doing with Blake last night?” she asks. “Were you trying to make Chase jealous?”

I snort, trying not to laugh. “Funny, Whit. Real funny. Blake asked me out. I didn’t realize it was some sick joke to the two of them. I thought I was going to make a friend. One whom is in town, and one whom isn’t dating the guy who tore me in two.”

Surprise flits her face, then a touch of sadness. “It’s like the universe is trying to slam you two together, but there’s a wall too thick for either of you to bust through.”

No idea what that means, so I don’t say anything.

“Blake is his best friend, but he didn’t know about you, Mika. He was completely clueless until last night. He’s actually a really nice guy. Chase lost his shit when he found out Blake planned on dating you.”

This time, I’m the one surprised.

“It’s why I left the carnival,” she goes on. “Chase doesn’t get jealous. I’ve been trying to get a rise out of him for months. I could straddle a guy and shove my tongue down his throat, and Chase wouldn’t care. I called him this morning to tell him I spent the night f*cking your brother, and all he said was that I could have at least dumped him first. That’s it. No anger, no passion… nothing. He just hung up after that.”