Taunting Tracy (Fractured Souls #2)
Prologue
Tracy
Five Years Ago
“I’m going to miss you so much.” I squeeze my best friend against me a little tighter, not wanting to let go. “I don’t want to tell you what to do, but you should stay,” I say, my voice tight as I try to hold myself together.
“I can’t, Trace,” Riley says, her arms wrapped tight around me. “I can’t live here anymore after everything that’s happened.”
The funeral home looms behind us, a cold stone building that’s anything but a beacon of comfort.
While death is never easy, I always thought funeral homes were supposed to be warm and welcoming, the first place for the healing process to begin.
A place for people to gather and reflect and celebrate their loved ones.
The dark building over Riley’s shoulder is about as warm as a morgue.
A few more people make their way inside, paying their final respects to Riley’s mom, and it will only be a matter of time before they start wondering why Riley isn’t there.
Running my hands up and down her back, I take a few deep breaths, willing the tears not to break free.
I want to argue with her. I want to tell her that she doesn’t have to move halfway across the country to escape this place.
I want to push her into my car and drive off with her to someplace new, so we can figure life out together.
“I need to do this,” she continues, pulling away from my embrace. “I need to figure out who I am and what I want, and I can’t do that here.”
Wiping my eyes with the sleeves of my black cardigan, I force myself to keep it together, to be the strong one. To be the supportive best friend she needs right now.
“If you asked, I would go with you,” I squeak out, my shaky voice betraying the strength I’m trying to portray. “We can figure things out together.”
“I know you would.” She grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “But I need to do this alone. And besides, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”
She gives me a sad smile and my heart cracks, my brain screaming at me to tell her not to do this. It feels like the person I love most in my life is being ripped away from me, but I say nothing, not wanting to burden her with that knowledge.
Riley makes her way into the funeral home, and I follow silently behind.
Little did I know the guilt that would later consume me for letting her walk out of my life. All the pain and suffering my best friend would endure because I was too weak to make her stay.
And little did I know she wouldn’t be the last one to leave me.