Chasing you | ✓

Chapter 53 - Frost

The air was cold and sharp in my lungs, a reminder of the winter that was coming around the corner. I had forgotten what that felt like. Living in California the last few months had been a wild ride and in some ways it felt like I'd never lived anywhere else. I had gotten so used to the sun always shining, palm trees lining every street and heat that made you break a sweat from the smallest bit of exertion.

Being back in Pennsylvania, especially here of all places, brought back all the memories I was still scared of facing.

My grip on Jack's hand tightened as we walked through the chilly cemetery. The frost had hit suddenly and it had made the ground covered with frozen grass that crunched under our feet.

We didn't stop until we found the gold-engraved stone, resting by a dormant bush of yellow roses.

Cade Aaron Summers
2002 - 2021

"I can't believe you didn't go to his funeral," I mused. "It was lovely."

"I just couldn't... with everything. I had so much guilt."

His voice broke and I squeezed his hand to reassure him that I was here. He leaned down and pecked my lips. The simple gesture made my body feel warmer.

"Today made me realize that I'm not the one who needs to feel guilty for what happened to him."

I nodded. "I know what you mean. Our stories seem so small in the grand scheme of things."

I looked out over the quiet cemetery. We were alone here except for an older woman with curly gray hair and a knitted shawl over her shoulders. I watched as she wiped frost off a granite headstone and wondered who she was there to see on such a cold day. Maybe she had lost her husband of forty years. Maybe she had lost a child decades ago and the wound was still fresh. Or perhaps she was paying respects to a beloved sister. 

Every person on this planet had a myriad of stories that we would never know anything about. 

"I still can't believe Cade," Jack mused. "Why did he never tell us about tracking down our birth parents? I don't get why he kept that to himself."

"It sounds like he's always liked being a sort of protective big brother to you."

Jack snorted. "I don't know what I did to ever make him think I needed it."

"Hey, he didn't even tell me you existed," I pointed out. "Honestly, I think he was protective of all the people he cared about."

"I don't even know how he found out about me."

"I guess there are questions we'll never get the answers to. We just have to find a way to be okay with that."

When I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I removed my gloves to fish it out. I blinked at my screen, trying to make sense of the words that had appeared on it.

"Allie, what is it?" Jack asked, already on high alert.

"It's Dani," I breathed. I smiled tentatively, my shock keeping me from a full-on grin. "The results from the dance competition are up. You and I are finalists for the internship."

"I knew it!" Jack threw his arms around me and pressed me tight. "I knew we could do it. But geez, for a second I thought someone had died."

My laugh was smothered by the fabric of Jack's thick jacket.

"I just didn't expect it," I said, voice muffled. "But apparently you did?"

Jack leaned down and pressed light, butterfly kisses everywhere on my face.

"Jack, stop!" I giggled. "It tickles!"

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "I'm just so relieved. I thought you had gotten bad news."