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CHAPTER 97: Re-opened

Penulis: Donna Sheldon
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-28 17:45:43

The car ride back was quieter than I expected it to be, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind. It was the kind of quiet that had weight, but not in a bad way. Just… thoughtful. Like the night had said enough, and we were both letting the words settle between us.

I watched the street lights blur past the passenger window, leaning my head against the cool glass. The city had already begun to slow down. Late-night food vendors were packing up, a few clubs still pulsing with half-drunk music, but mostly, the roads had emptied into that soft space between night and morning.

Captain didn’t say much. Occasionally he tapped the steering wheel with his fingers to the beat of whatever lo-fi track was playing, but mostly he just… drove. One hand on the wheel, the other resting casually near the gearshift, eyes focused on the road with that faraway look like he was somewhere else.

I tried not to stare at him too much.

Tried.

But that profile? That slightly furrowed brow, the way his hair was
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  • Breaking The Ice Between Us    CHAPTER 123: The Worst Decision I Keep Making

    ANDREW ~I never knew what to say when people opened up to me. Like, really opened up. Poured out their insides like I was some kind of safe place. A container. A vault. But I wasn’t. I never had been. Hell, I could barely contain myself on a good day—my thoughts always racing, emotions always biting under the surface like glass under skin. So when Captain—Richard—started talking, I just sat there. I didn’t interrupt. Didn’t offer those cookie-cutter responses people give when they don’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say either, but I knew enough not to lie. I couldn’t fake empathy. Couldn’t force out a “damn, man” or “I’m sorry that happened.” That would’ve felt cheap. Insulting, even. So I just listened. And now, sitting across from him in this dimly lit booth with peeling vinyl and a busted jukebox humming softly in the background, I was still listening. Still trying to make sense of what the hell had just happened. He told me about his father. About grief. About

  • Breaking The Ice Between Us    CHAPTER 122: A Deadbeat

    “I mean, he’s always been a deadbeat,” I added, voice rough. “Long before everything else. Before my mom died. Before Regina. Before fists got involved.” Andrew didn’t say anything. Just shifted a little in his seat, making the leather creak beneath him. “He used to act like paying the bills was the same as parenting,” I went on. “Like putting a roof over our heads was his golden pass to be an absolute piece of shit the rest of the time.” I let out a dry laugh. It scraped in my throat. “You know what the worst part is?” I tilted my head to look at Andrew, but not quite look. “He thinks he’s a good person. Like, really believes it. Every time he calls me ungrateful or unloving or cold—it’s because he’s convinced he’s the goddamn victim in all of this.” My mouth twisted, not quite a smile. “He really thinks I’m the problem. That I’m angry for no reason. That I’m just some unstable disappointment who lashes out because I couldn’t get over a little grief.” Andrew’s gaze softened.

  • Breaking The Ice Between Us    CHAPTER 121: Not Once

    My voice cracked on the last word, but I tried to smile.It didn’t land. Not even close.Andrew’s jaw tightened. His fists clenched by his side.“Jesus Christ, Captain,” he muttered, walking forward. “What the hell did you do?”I shrugged, metal links clinking as I shifted. “Depends on who you ask.”“Fine,” he said, stopping in front of me, arms crossed. “I’ll ask you. What. Did. You. Do?”I exhaled through my nose. “Hit my father.”He didn’t say anything.I tilted my head, trying to gauge him. “Twice.”Still nothing.“Okay, maybe a lot of times,” I added with a wince. “There was a wall involved.”That finally got a reaction. Andrew inhaled sharply and turned away, like he couldn’t even look at me. He paced for a moment, raking a hand through his hair.“I don’t even know why I came,” he muttered to himself.My smile slipped.He turned back around, eyes narrowed. “You seriously dragged me into this?”“I didn’t drag anyone,” I said. “I just gave them your number. The rest was up to you.

  • Breaking The Ice Between Us    CHAPTER 120: Miss Me?

    CAPTAIN ~The cuffs were cold. Cold and wet. They bit into my skin, already slick with blood—some of it mine, some of it not.I stared down at my hands.Bloodied. Bruised. Shaking.Fuck.The officer sitting across from me hadn’t said much. Just sat there silently like he was giving me space to self-destruct with dignity. Or maybe he just didn’t want to deal with the mess I clearly was.I shifted slightly in my seat, chains clinking, and winced. My wrist was already swelling, probably from when I slammed my father into the wall. Or from the punches.I grimaced, staring at the small cuts and smears of crimson dried under my fingernails.This wasn’t supposed to happen.I had sworn—sworn with every ounce of shame and resolve I could muster—that I’d never let myself spiral like this again. Not after the first time. Not after that night when I was twenty, blackout drunk, fists bloodied, and they dragged me out of that dive bar, kicking and screaming at the top of my lungs over the motionle

  • Breaking The Ice Between Us    CHAPTER 119: I Know Him.

    ANDREW ~The worst part about mornings was that they didn’t care if you barely survived the day before.They just… came.Whether or not you were ready. Whether or not you wanted to get out of bed. Whether or not your whole world had cracked open and bled out onto the floor the day before—morning still came.I rolled onto my side and groaned into my pillow. My limbs felt like concrete, stiff from sleeping in one position for too long. My brain was cotton. Slow. Static-filled. My mouth dry and my eyes crusty at the corners.Great. Alive, technically. Not exactly thriving.I sat up slowly, blinking against the light coming in from the window. My blinds were half-crooked. The city outside sounded like usual—cars honking, people yelling, dogs barking.I ran a hand down my face and sighed, then got out of bed and dragged myself toward the bathroom. The floor was cold. My feet slapped against it with a tired rhythm.Inside the bathroom, I stared at myself in the mirror for a long second.Da

  • Breaking The Ice Between Us    CHAPTER 118: I Snapped!

    I was still thinking about Ms. Beckett when I pulled into the underground parking. Her words had echoed the entire drive home—gentle, almost annoyingly wise. But comforting, in that way older adults people sometimes manage to be when you’re completely falling apart and pretending you’re not.I grabbed my groceries and took the elevator up to my floor.But the second the doors slid open, that fleeting peace was shattered.Because there he was—my father. Standing right in front of my apartment door like a fucking curse made flesh. His arms were crossed, face blank in that superior way that used to scare the shit out of me as a kid.Now, it just pissed me off.“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, stepping out, grocery bags still digging into my fingers.He turned his head slowly, like he’d been waiting for hours. His face was pale, but his eyes were clear, calculating. That was always the worst part. He never needed to raise his voice. His words alone did the bleeding.“She’s dea

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