Deception. Betrayal. Mistrust.
It seems the closer Rayne gets to the truth, the more she finds herself wanting to run away from it. It's complex and terrifying-more than she ever fathomed.
New family members, good and bad, pop out at her like a br...
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𝗠atteo sat at the shore, watching the waves lap halfway up his haphazard sitting position. His eyes ate up every inch of the fading white bubbles as the face of the current left the edges of the water. He watched the foam dissolve and wondered if it were a religious thing to believe he was the human embodiment of every tangible disappearing act.
He was back home. He was with his daughter and his sister, and he should be happy. But he wasn't. Not even close. And as he stared into the sunset, watching the pinks morph into purples, and the oranges become dissected by yellows, he wondered if he would ever feel whole again.
Six months ago, he was in the worst spot he could possibly be in—a place so vile and disgusting, he would never wish it on anyone. Anyone but himself. And while he knew he shouldn't yearn to be back in that cage, tormented and abused—knowing he was outright insulting those who lost their lives to save him—he still did it.
Because even if it meant he was nothing, a nobody, a waste of space not even good enough to be beaten on a daily basis—at least he knew who he was. At least, in his mind, Lilliana was still alive, and not just in his dreams. And when he caught glimpses of his daughter's face, he didn't have the tugging urge in the back of his mind to wonder how his older brother was doing.
Six months ago, he didn't care about anything.
Now, he was a muddled mess of a man—a half-assed father, and a poor excuse for a brother. As his fingers ran through the small chunks of his hair, and his eyes devoured the sky, he felt as if he was never more lost than he was now.
And because of that, he couldn't socialize.
He couldn't stand next to his sister and pretend that everything was okay. He couldn't lean on Rueben and laugh, share a beer, and act as if he wasn't mad at him for saving his life but not being quick enough to save Lilly's. He couldn't watch the love shine between Mason and Kai and not feel a stab to the gut because of their marriage.
He couldn't do any of it.
He couldn't even be human if asked.
"Daddy! Daddy, look!" Ruby shrieked.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he lowered his chin and gazed at his beautiful daughter, happy to see the light he missed in his own gleaming in those emerald eyes of hers. Her small, chunky fingers held tightly to a wet seashell she was shoving into his face.
"Whoa, what's this?" he asked, plucking it from her.
"A she-shell!" she giggled.
"It's beautiful. Is it for me?"
"No!" she yelled, snatching it back and running away.
As he watched her stumpy legs run away toward the water again, he knew he was lying to himself. There was one person on this Earth who reminded him what it was like to love, to be happy, to be free, and she stood a foot tall and had bright red pigtails.
