Chapter 41

Nick

Love is a promise delivered, already broken. That's what I learned from the first half of my life. Love hurts, it breaks up families, it brings unhappiness and pain, disappointment and sorrow. Love doesn't save, it steals. Anything and everything worth having.

But watching Ransom and Stella as they dance around their reception, seeing how happy they are. Watching the smile covering both of their faces, the way my best friend holds my sister in his arms? It makes me wonder if I'm the broken one, and everyone else knows the answer to the secret. There's a part of me that thinks I'm wrong, because I see successful couples all around me. The difference in those couples and what I've been a part of? Me. I'm always the common denominator, and after a while – you come to realize how bad you are loving anyone else, including yourself.

Sighing, I bring my bottle of beer up to my lips, taking a drink. It's nasty, because I've been nursing the same one all night. I'm not much of a dri