Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
DUSTIN
I knew walking out of the hospital and leaving Echo behind was going to be hard, but it was damn near impossible. Thankfully, I had Dax with me.
“Hey, can we make a detour before we head back?” Dax asks.
I don’t know what his detour entails, but I welcome the distraction. I’m about to ask him what wild goose chase he has us going on, but then the water comes into view and a lump fills my throat.
“This is where it happened?” I ask, already knowing the answer. I put my Blazer in park right in front of a bench and sculpture that seems to be a replica of the one Dax presented at the award ceremony. Guilt instantly sweeps over me as I come to the realization that we haven’t had a real conversation about him losing his friend. I’ve been so caught up in my problems that I forgot about him losing someone who was like a brother to him.
Dax gets out and I stay seated, giving him time alone. He walks to the statue and places his hand on it, dropping his head. I imagine him saying a prayer and I close my eyes and do the same. I haven’t said a real prayer since I was eighteen, but right now, prayer feels like the most logical thing to do.
I pray for my brother, who experienced a loss I can’t begin to comprehend.
I pray for Echo and for her to have the strength she needs to face her situation.
I pray for myself, to be able to truly forgive and move on from the past. I pray that I can be whatever Echo needs and a good father to our son.
And I pray for Brian…because I truly want him to get better.
I open my eyes and see Dax at the waterline. He bends over, grabs a rock, and flings his arm from the side of his body, skipping the rock across the top of the water. I hop out and make my way to where he stands and do the same. We silently fling rocks for what feels like an eternity before he begins to speak.
“You know, I loved Lynsie since the day Lincoln introduced me to her,” Dax admits. “I felt like the worst best friend for having those feelings and wanting what was his.” He sits down on the ground, and I join him. “It felt like a curse. I couldn’t control it. I tried. I even debated on getting restationed.” He laughs. “I was actually looking into it right before the accident.” Dax looks over at me and I hold his stare. “It was Lincoln’s last wish for me to watch over Lynsie, but I would’ve done so anyway.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “I got so wrapped up in my shit that I left you hanging.” I look down and shake my head.
“You’re here for me now. That’s all that matters,” Dax reassures. “I used to think my feelings for her were a curse, but after the accident, I realized they were my purpose.”
His words resonate deep inside me. With everything that’s happened in the past six months, I know the feeling of what seemed to be a curse shaping into a purpose. Echo being pulled from me thirteen years ago, joining the Army, getting injured, the entire situation with Brian—all of it presented itself as a curse. I literally thought I was cursed, but now I’m starting to see the bigger picture. How everything intricately weaves itself back together.
How maybe the universe doesn’t hate me, after all.
“Tell me more about the Broken Wing award you received. I never got the full story behind that.”
Dax laughs and shakes his head. “Two words. Suicide birds.”