\u201cMatt, where are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d come out here sometimes to get some air. I\u2019d tag along but stay out of his way. It\u2019d be when he didn\u2019t feel like talking. That\u2019s why it\u2019d be me. I\u2019d just shut up and let him be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The implication was that the rest of us wouldn\u2019t always do that\u2014and it was probably true. It stung a little, though not as much as I might have expected it to. Sometimes the truth is as much balm as it is sting. I sighed and shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my coat. \u201cAll right. That answers my question a little. But where would you two go<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Shakespeare Garden,\u201d Matt said, breaking into a jog once we\u2019d cleared the bridge. \u201cHe said that even with what the camazotzi<\/em> did to it, it still felt safe and different. He\u2019d sit on that old stone bench and stare out at the barrow. Sometimes he\u2019d sing and I could almost understand the words\u2014my head could almost understand the words. My heart already knew them.\u201d He slowed, swallowing hard and looking at me with eyes that sparkled with unshed tears. \u201cGod, Marin, if he\u2019s not\u2014if he\u2019s not okay, what are we going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be fine,\u201d I said, refusing to consider the possibility that he wouldn\u2019t be. \u201cDammit, we should have brought J.T. with us. How are we going to see<\/em> him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll find us,\u201d Matt muttered. \u201cWe just have to get there. It was that way with…I remember it being that way. I remember wanting to come back to myself even though I was afraid\u2014to come back to you. I remember that it was all I wanted. All Ciar wanted.\u201d Matt sucked in a sharp breath and exhaled it slowly. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s just been waiting. Once we get there, once we come for him, he\u2019ll come back with us and we\u2019ll get the missing piece back to where it\u2019s supposed to be and then everything will be fine.\u201d His determined, certain fa\u00e7ade cracked. \u201cRight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d I whispered, heart thudding painfully against my breast. \u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right.\u201d<\/p>\n Gods and monsters, I hope we\u2019re not lying to ourselves. I hope you\u2019re right.<\/em><\/p>\n I grasped his hand tightly and we headed for the Shakespeare Garden together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cMatt, where are we going?\u201d \u201cHe\u2019d come out here sometimes to get some air. I\u2019d tag along but stay out of his way. It\u2019d be when he didn\u2019t feel like talking. That\u2019s why it\u2019d be me. I\u2019d just shut up … Continue reading