Outside the hospital, the air just felt heavy. Like, thick with all the stuff no one was saying. Tyler leaned against the cool brick, his gaze fixed on nothing, his mind a total mess of old memories. He saw Kennedy, not the angry, tear-streaked one from a few minutes ago, but the old Kennedy. The one who’d gently pull a cigarette from his fingers, her eyes wide and playful, a little pout on her lips."Tyler, you promised," she'd whisper, so soft, right against his ear. "You promised you'd try to quit. For me?"And he’d always pretend to, or at least try. He’d sigh, stub out the cigarette, then pull her close, burying his face in her hair, breathing her in instead of smoke. Those times, man, they were just sweet. Easy. Intimate. He remembered her laughing, her head thrown back, that bright, genuine sound. Or the way she’d trace patterns on his arm when they were just chilling on the sofa. God, those little things. They felt like a dream from another life now.This cold war, this huge, s
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