Eric
Stiles has everything to lose and no matter how hard he fights he can feel his
life slipping away.
Rebecca
Gailen thinks that the love of her life is dead and only the vigor of revenge
keeps her fighting to survive.
When
a secret reveals more than anyone expected, it changes Eric and Rebecca’s lives
forever. The devastating truth puts the couple at odds. Can they overcome their
clashing conclusions and learn to trust each other again? Or will they let it
rip them apart?
Excerpt
The
stairs creaked with each step as he looked into the dimness below. The humid
musty area was cold and damp. He swallowed hard. Gray concrete, jagged walls
and dust surrounded them and a chill raked up his spine.
"We
found it over there." The same officer descended the stairs behind them.
The beam of his flashlight landed to the right of where they stood. Eric
reached for a flashlight, and his eyes landed on Charlie who scanned the room.
An officer offered his and Eric stepped toward the area. His hand brushed
against the cold concrete but his mind still refused to accept it.
Not
here…not like this…
Eric’s
eyes fell on a spatter of blood and his chest flooded with an unrecognized
pain.
She
was here
Unable
to push the image away, all the air left the room as his entire body clenched
at the suffocation. He ascended the stairs into the sunlight, fighting for
control. He began to unhinge, mindlessly entered one of the side rooms.
They
didn't find her which means she's still…
Keep
it together Stiles…falling apart isn't going to help anyone
The
sewn seam around his emotions threatened to tear, and he couldn't move. The
paralyzing agony that spiked from the core of his body was relentless. He
fought back in vain. He knew it wouldn't stop until she was in his arms, safe.
"Eric,
what’s going on?"
Eric
wiped an unexpected wetness from his eyes. He leaned against the wall to face
his brother. Pure disbelief stared back at him.
"I've
never seen you like this."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah,
you never…"
"Yeah
well, things change." Eric moved to exit the room.
He
found the front door and pushed through it hearing Charlie just behind him.
"Since
when?"
"You
still don't get it do you?"
"What
are you talking about?"
"Have
you really convinced yourself that all of this…what happened, was just some
kind of joke?” He stopped to face him. “That Rebecca and I didn’t mean anything
we said when we told you that we never wanted to hurt you?"
"I
don't know what the hell you meant to do and to be honest, I don’t really
care."
"Charlie…whether
or not you choose to believe it, we did try to walk away.” Charlie’s eyes
diverted in anger. "Jesus, Charlie she went through hell and all she could
think about was how she couldn't hurt you!"
"So
once again this is my fault!"
"No…I
am just…" Eric’s chest turned to stone, unwilling to allow him to hide.
"As your brother, your friend, I tried to forget about…everything. But
that night. That first night in Dallas, everything changed. We did everything
we could to ignore it, make disappear but it didn't. It only got stronger…can
you try to understand that?"
"You
really expect me to…"
"I
expect you to believe that I tried! I expect you to realize that this had
nothing to do with you. To remember that until that moment, I've never betrayed
you."
"So
because you’ve always tried to be the good big brother you want me to be okay
with this? To just accept what you did and move on?"
"Yes."
'Why?"
"Because
you’re my brother and I need you to." Eric’s watering despite his
continued battle against it. "Charlie, I'm in love with her."
"I
loved her too!"
"Okay
Charlie,” Eric clenched his jaw. “Where did you see things heading with her?
Let's say we never met, what then?"
"I
don't know. I never got the chance thanks to you!"
"That’s
the difference!" Eric’s fists balled in frustration. "Six weeks ago,
and the two months before that, hell even in Dallas. I knew this was different.
I knew she changed everything. Even when she left without a word and I didn’t
even know her name, I couldn’t get her out of my head! I look at her and see
everything I never knew I wanted. She's woken up this person inside me that I
didn’t even know was there! The one who wants a house and a family. The person
who needs to see her every morning and hold her every night, because when I
don't something is missing and the world doesn't make sense. "
"Eric…"
"The
difference is that the moment I met her, she became my whole world," Eric
explained as he struggled to keep his furious heart under control. "I know
that you loved her. That was one of the reason's I stayed away as long as I
did. It might not seem like much but…she needed me and I couldn’t turn my back
anymore. Now she's gone and I can't…If we don't…if I can't find her..."
"We're
going to find her, Eric.” He saw the first glimpse of understanding in his
brothers eyes.
Come Find Me!
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