Tobias: Book One of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Forty-Six

Seconds turned to minutes.

Minutes to hours.

From hours to days.

Until finally, it had reached an entire week.

Tobias sat on his bed, staring at the navy blue of his bedroom wall until its plain surface began to move and warp into the best times of his empty life. First came the very beginning of their relationship when they had stayed up until 1:38 in the morning. Then, their first time together in bed when he had passed out. Shortly after was the Thanksgiving with his family, their Christmas, and then his birthday.

Some birthday, his subconscious taunted him.

"Jane," he croaked, his voice having left him not too long ago when she had ripped him apart and left his scraps to rot.

How could she do this to him? All he remembered was her crying and sobbing, telling him that she needed to protect him. Well, if she wanted to make sure I don't get hurt, then why the fuck would she do this? He didn't understand. Misery wasn't what had him gasping for breath now; it was something much worse, something that not even words could begin to describe.

But that didn't mean he was going to give up. Despite how she had ignored all of his calls for the past eight days, he couldn't give up - would never give up. Even though she refused to answer the door whenever he stopped by, he knew he needed to talk with her and help her see what he saw. And just like that, his future - their future - was being played like a movie on the wall in front of him. Easily and without little effort, an image of brown-haired toddlers running around entered his vision, soon mesmerizing him of what would have happened if she hadn't flat out rejected him.

No, stop thinking so negatively, Cantrell! he screamed at himself, knowing that this wasn't the end; it simply couldn't be.

It was just another bump in the road that could easily be smoothed out or at least he hoped it was. Cracking his knuckles roughly to feel anything but this emptiness currently plaguing him, Tobias groggily stood up and shuffled into the kitchen. He proceeded to go through his morning routine in this way, dumping himself a bowl of multi-grain Cheerios and trying not to fall apart at the sight of Frosted Flakes, Jane's favorite. Pouring the milk, he could have sworn he saw the word Jane spelt out in its circular orifices.

Okay, he silently prayed, this is getting fuckin' ridiculous. Gimme a break.

With the bent, metal spoon he scooped up a small spoonful and somehow managed to make all of the grains and milk go down. Rex pawed at Tobias's cold limbs, reminding him that even the husky needed breakfast.

"C'mon, boy." He busied himself with the simple act of scooping two cups worth of dog chow into Rex's metal bowl.

Replacing the bag back into the closet, he tidied up the kitchen before returning to his bedroom. If he had any hope of trying to get Jane to see reason, he would have to be at his absolute best, which was why he moved slower than usual. He brushed his teeth almost in slow motion, shaved the rough stubble that had accumulated in the same manner. Trying to smile into the mirror, he bared his teeth a little and was taken aback at how the life had left his eyes.

He ignored it, only to walk back into his bedroom to be met face to face with Jane's rose gold necklace laying in a shimmering heap on the floor. The sight almost brought him to his knees, for it reminded him of the few other spats they had shared as a couple before and how this most serious one had been different; Jane hadn't even yelled at him that night, only crying and pleading with him as she practically handed him back his heart.

Look at you, Tobias's subconscious scorned his weakness, gonna be a damned poet now, are we?

"Fuck off," he cursed, slipping into one of his buckskin jackets as he bent down to pick up the priceless object. Ever since that night, he had just let it lie there on the ground, mocking him every night he went to bed and every morning he woke up.