Changing Tides (Kill Devil Hills Book 2) by Sarah Darlington Page B
Authors: Sarah Darlington
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was seething, but he hadn’t even broken a sweat. “But Ben, you lost your right to play the protective older brother card the day we put your casket into the ground. Your parents know. They’ve known for about five months now. Our relationship isn’t fleeting or insane. Let me tell you what is insane…you playing house out here in Malibu while the rest of the world continues on without you. Come on, Georgie, I want to go,” he finished, standing up now too and reaching for her hand. She let him take it. “We’ll be in the car whenever you’re ready, Ellie.”
I nodded and they started to leave the room. But Georgie turned around to say one more thing to Ben. “I’m really happy you’re alive. I hope you come home soon.” Then they disappeared out of the room.
“Shit,” Ben huffed, plopping down in his seat. “I feel like an ass.”
“You should!” I huffed. “They’re good together. I mea n reall y good together. He went off with her to college this year. Can you believe that? Noah…at college. He holds her hand and opens doors for her. They say sweet things to each other when they think no one is listening. The way they love each other—sometimes I get this gut-wrenching feeling way down deep inside. Most people never find that kind of love in life and it scares me to death that I’ll never find something like they have. Whenever you come home, you’ll see what I mean. It’s heartbreaking and it’s cute all at once.”
He gave me a half-smile. “I’m sure it’s adorable. But this is why you weren’t supposed to tell anyone I was alive. I’m not coming home. You all coming here to visit—it changes nothing. I’m never going back to Kill Devil Hills. You shouldn’t have brought the others. The clean break was better than this.”
My mouth dropped open, annoyance ripping through my body. “Then why even contact me? Why drop this all on me, and only me, if you never wanted anyone else to know?”
“Jesus, Ellie,” he groaned. “Because I thought you could handle knowing the truth. I don’t know. I guess I just needed one person to know I was alive. Of everyone, I thought it was you I could trust.”
Something inside me snapped—like the last straw that broke the camel’s back. “No,” I said softly and then repeated it louder. “No. I’m sorry bu t fuck tha t . And fuck you. I don’t know what happened to make you think that any of this is okay. It’s not okay. Georgina tried to commit suicide. The day of your funeral she was so upset that she slit her wrists and nearly died. If Noah hadn’t found her before it was too late, she’d be gone. Your actions don’t just effect you, they effect all of us. You need to man up and cut the bullshit, pull your head out of your ass and come home. Yeah, so life gets hard sometimes…boo-fucking-hoo…that doesn’t give you the right to do this to us. Now if you’ll excuse me, my family that is stil l livin g needs me outside right now. Bye, Ben. I hope you figure your shit out and come home.” I paused because I had one more thing he needed to know. “And whenever you do come home, I’ll be there. I’ll help you deal with whatever it is that’s been keeping you away from us so long. I promise.”
In an adrenaline fueled haze, I stepped outside Mrs. Stone’s house and into the cold night air. It had turned dark while we’d been inside and I felt disoriented. Too many miles separated me from North Carolina. Home sickness wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before and it hit me hard. With my hands trembling and my knees weak, I walked for the rental car. Inside Noah and Georgie were waiting on me.
“You guys okay?” I asked as I slipped inside.
“Not really,” Georgina admitted. Under the yellow light in the car, I saw that her eyes remained dry, but I could hear the emotion in her voice. “Sydney just called. She’s at the airport. She switched her ticket and is taking the redeye home tonight. She said she can’t
I nodded and they started to leave the room. But Georgie turned around to say one more thing to Ben. “I’m really happy you’re alive. I hope you come home soon.” Then they disappeared out of the room.
“Shit,” Ben huffed, plopping down in his seat. “I feel like an ass.”
“You should!” I huffed. “They’re good together. I mea n reall y good together. He went off with her to college this year. Can you believe that? Noah…at college. He holds her hand and opens doors for her. They say sweet things to each other when they think no one is listening. The way they love each other—sometimes I get this gut-wrenching feeling way down deep inside. Most people never find that kind of love in life and it scares me to death that I’ll never find something like they have. Whenever you come home, you’ll see what I mean. It’s heartbreaking and it’s cute all at once.”
He gave me a half-smile. “I’m sure it’s adorable. But this is why you weren’t supposed to tell anyone I was alive. I’m not coming home. You all coming here to visit—it changes nothing. I’m never going back to Kill Devil Hills. You shouldn’t have brought the others. The clean break was better than this.”
My mouth dropped open, annoyance ripping through my body. “Then why even contact me? Why drop this all on me, and only me, if you never wanted anyone else to know?”
“Jesus, Ellie,” he groaned. “Because I thought you could handle knowing the truth. I don’t know. I guess I just needed one person to know I was alive. Of everyone, I thought it was you I could trust.”
Something inside me snapped—like the last straw that broke the camel’s back. “No,” I said softly and then repeated it louder. “No. I’m sorry bu t fuck tha t . And fuck you. I don’t know what happened to make you think that any of this is okay. It’s not okay. Georgina tried to commit suicide. The day of your funeral she was so upset that she slit her wrists and nearly died. If Noah hadn’t found her before it was too late, she’d be gone. Your actions don’t just effect you, they effect all of us. You need to man up and cut the bullshit, pull your head out of your ass and come home. Yeah, so life gets hard sometimes…boo-fucking-hoo…that doesn’t give you the right to do this to us. Now if you’ll excuse me, my family that is stil l livin g needs me outside right now. Bye, Ben. I hope you figure your shit out and come home.” I paused because I had one more thing he needed to know. “And whenever you do come home, I’ll be there. I’ll help you deal with whatever it is that’s been keeping you away from us so long. I promise.”
In an adrenaline fueled haze, I stepped outside Mrs. Stone’s house and into the cold night air. It had turned dark while we’d been inside and I felt disoriented. Too many miles separated me from North Carolina. Home sickness wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before and it hit me hard. With my hands trembling and my knees weak, I walked for the rental car. Inside Noah and Georgie were waiting on me.
“You guys okay?” I asked as I slipped inside.
“Not really,” Georgina admitted. Under the yellow light in the car, I saw that her eyes remained dry, but I could hear the emotion in her voice. “Sydney just called. She’s at the airport. She switched her ticket and is taking the redeye home tonight. She said she can’t
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