Free Rebel Heart by Jane Slate

was easy. He drank to forget. He had grown accustomed to the bitter comfort of liquor. To the way it burned his throat and reminded him that he was alive. That Maddox wasn’t. And whenever the reminder became too much for him to bear, he would simply drink more.
    He’d tip back the bottle and he’d forget.
    Alcohol sustained him. It became as natural as breathing. He sought comfort in the dull, painful moments between his first drink and his next.
    The sky was bright and illuminated by different shades of orange. There was some solace to be experienced on the empty road just before sunset.
    On this particular day, three months into her pregnancy, Stella was all business. There were questions she needed answers to.
    One in particular.
    After hoisting Kade into the passenger’s seat of her Firebird and turning onto the road, Stella turned to look at him.
    “Do you love me?”
    Kade frowned. The question caught him off guard. Stella awaited his response and gripped the steering wheel until her fingers flushed of color, a shade that matched the emptiness in her expression.
    She always did have a nonchalant way of tapping into a person’s soul. Kade looked out the rain-streaked window and said nothing. Every little thing about him screamed yes , but he refused to speak.
    As they bumped down the road, Kade silently replayed his and Stella’s latest argument in his head.
    She had thrown an iron at him. He had called her overemotional. They had these fights regularly but they always made up.
    This time felt different.
    Kade lit a cigarette and inhaled. He could feel her dark eyes grazing his face, longing for an answer he’d never give.
    “I don’t know,” Kade lied, his voice barely audible.
    Stella’s eyes brimmed with tears but she tensed her jaw and focused on the road, not allowing them to spill over. She pressed down on the accelerator and allowed the sharp clamor of the Firebirds engine to drown out her feelings.
    Vulnerability had never been something Kade was good with.
    The sum total of his life experiences had conditioned him to believe that he wasn’t worth caring about. After his mother had died, his father had retreated into seclusion, leaving thirteen year old Kade to raise himself.
    Fighting was the only thing that ever caught the old man’s attention, which was probably why Kade had fallen so in love with it.
    Still, Stella was different. When he spoke, he felt like she was really listening. She made him feel strong and worthwhile in a different way than he was used to. It was just her way...caring about the people who meant something to her.
    That much was obvious.
    Kade could see it in the way she spoke about the people she loved. Mel. Her mother. Hell, even her father. It didn’t matter that he was a mean old drunk undeserving of anyone’s affection.
    Stella didn’t pick and choose who she loved. She just loved. Every time she spoke, no matter who it was to, her unadulterated admiration shone through.
    Kade didn’t feel like he deserved it. He didn’t feel like he deserved her .
    He had never met anyone with so much passion when it came to others. It didn’t make much sense to him. At first he chopped it up to guilt. He figured Stella was just overcompensating for being privileged. But it didn’t feel like the truth.
    The look in her eyes told Kade that she was genuine. Maybe the most genuine person he had ever met. He could feel his hardened heart softening every time they were together and that scared him in a way nothing ever had.
    So he distanced himself from his feelings and he distanced himself from her.
    Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls pushed through the radio static. It was an all too fitting song. Stella reached forward and turned up the volume. She could feel Kade staring at her, dissecting her, but she didn’t react. She hummed along with the melody and swallowed down the lump in her throat.
    They were almost to his trailer, where they would part ways like they always did. Stella didn’t