Free UNFORGETTABLE (Able Series Book 3) by Gigi Aceves Page A

the cure for my pain—at least for now.
    An intervention is happening in our house. Regretfully, I leave Tami to sleep in our room while I face the people willing to lend an ear to listen, maybe an arm to console, and a heart open to give understanding. Do I face them? Of course not. Instead, I sit in the living room covered in darkness, wallowing in self-pity, and utter loneliness.
    “What are you doing in the dark, Son?”
    Hearing my mom’s voice brings a certain calmness in me, but not enough to overpower the ache. It’s still there, jabbing at my heart every chance it gets.
    Someone turns on the light and momentarily blinds me, but slowly my eyes get acclimated with the light. The light showcases my sadness and displays the pity looks on everyone’s face. Patti and Trish go check on Tami while my mom and Roxy try to scramble food for everyone. My dad tips his head toward the deck, his typical M.O. which means he needs to talk to me.
    He walks out, and I follow, closing the sliding door quietly behind me. I still my heart and prepare my mind to accept the words of wisdom or comfort he’s about to share with me.
    “Son, I know how you feel. It doesn’t get any easier, but together with the woman you love, both of you can overcome the grief and pain that comes with it. You’re stronger than this, trust me.” My dad turns to face me as he grabs my face willing me to look up, but I don’t.
    “Look at me.”
    I stubbornly shake my head as tears of pain slowly trickle down my face. Fuck this pain. I hate it. I hate it so much, I want to rip my heart out of my chest to stop feeling it—to stop feeling anything at all.
    “Brian, look at me. You can’t hide from the pain.”
    Swiping the stupid tears off my face, I lash out at my dad, “I’m not hiding!”
    Soft but firm, frail but strong arms embrace me from behind—my mother’s.
    “Accept the pain, Son, so the hole the loss left in your heart will start healing. Don’t cradle or feed the pain, the only thing that’ll do is break you. Tami needs you as you need her. Be each other’s strength, but she can’t do that with you refusing to accept anything.”
    “Why? Why take our baby, Ma? Why?”
    As my dad backs away, my mom steps in front of me. Tenderly, she holds my face and pushes upward to meet my eyes. Shaking her head ever so slightly, she smooths my hair with her right hand, all the while her eyes only speak of love.
    “No one knows the reason why. Perhaps, you should ask what? What is it that He wants you to learn? What He wants you to feel? What He wants you to ask of Him?”
    “I don’t understand. The only things I understand are Tami’s aches and mine, the guilt I have for not protecting her, the longing in my heart and hers that nothing and no one can fill.”
    “Brian, He wants you to learn to accept without anger. He wants you to feel the sadness and the pain without letting it fester, and He wants you to ask Him to bless you with another child. Ask for His strength, because you’ll need it to overcome the loss. You have to believe He’s faithful to give it.”
    My dad’s hot breath fans my face as he whispers, “Clear your head and cry it out. Expel all the pain, and then, leave it at the cross. It’s where it belongs, bare yourself clean, and He’ll show you the way.”
    I hear the sliding glass door open, and if I want to guess, I’d say it’s Jack. Of course, he’d want to talk to me . . . any father would.
    “Lorenzo, can I have a word with your son?”
    “Of course, Jack.”
    My mom kisses my cheek as my dad gives my shoulder a love pat. I stand and wait for Jack to speak. Maybe he wants to rip me a new one because I’m being stubborn, or because he’s blaming me. Either way, he can’t make me feel sorrier than I already do.
    “Sit down, Brian.”
    I do as I’m told, as always. I wish someone could just say stop feeling that way, or you should feel this way and your heart just follows—follows orders without