Synopsis:
In this emotional chapter, Caiden and Jamie confess their deepest fears and struggles after Chloe’s attack.
Excerpt:
The snow sat still across the plains as the cold night air stretched over Chestnut Ridge. Jamie and Caiden held hands as they walked over the bridge near their house.
“You look absolutely beautiful tonight, Jamie,” Caiden said as he lifted her hand and kissed it gently.
Jamie smiled slightly. “Thank you for tonight. I know my mind hasn’t been completely here lately. But I want you to know I’m trying my best to be happy and move on.” She stopped walking and turned towards the railing of the bridge. Looking down, she saw the water breaking through small holes in the icy river.
“It’s amazing how quickly life can change. One second, you feel calm and hopeful. And the next, you’re trapped. You’re being burned alive in the same place your mother —“
She squeezed her eyes shut as her body started shaking. Caiden looked at her, his own eyes filling with tears. The memories of that night terrorized him every night. But for Jamie’s sake, he didn’t want her to know that. As she shivered, Caiden walked over to her and put his jacket over her shoulders. He rubbed her arms, trying to warm her. “You don’t have to be okay. You don’t have to pretend anything with me Jamie,” Caiden said as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Caiden. I don’t know how to get rid of these thoughts. How do I stop imagining it? Feeling it… like how she felt it,” Jamie’s voice faded.
“I watched my mom burn. I watched as she left this world and in that moment, and every moment since, I felt a pain in my heart. But I never… I never felt what she felt.” A tear dripped across her cheek. “To watch me like I watched Travitha. To feel the flames across her skin and know that nobody was coming in time to help. To see me scream and cry and know that was the last image of me she’d ever see.”
Jamie shook her head as she tried to restrain her tears. She turned around and looked Caiden in the eyes. Her heart was racing as her body filled with anxiety. “I don’t know how to go on. I just don’t. Tell me how to move past this Caiden. Please. Please tell me. I’m begging you. Make it go away. Can you just make it go away?”
Caiden looked at his wife, his face stricken with pain. His entire life he had been the hero. Most days, it felt like there wasn’t a problem he couldn’t fix. But this — this was the first time a solution felt impossible.
