Carter's POV
I don’t remember how I got here.
Collapsing against a tree deep in the forest, my chest heaving, my throat raw.
The bottle in my hand was almost empty.
Didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered.
Ruby was gone.
Taken by him.
My head spun, the alcohol doing too much and not enough all at once.
Kale was silent.
Not because he wasn’t there
But because he was too furious to speak.
Or maybe
Because he was mourning.
I took another drink, the liquid burning down my throat.
Didn’t matter.
Didn’t matter that I loved her.
Didn’t matter that I had finally told her the truth.
Because in the end
She still chose him.
I let out a hollow laugh, my vision blurring.
Of course she did.
Why the hell wouldn’t she?
I had spent years pushing her away.
Years making her believe I didn’t
