Love You Always Read Online Free PDF Page B

tears.
    “It’s as if that day, this charm had fallen off to spare me the brother who saved my life. I know it’s silly, but a part of me believes that had we found my charm and it had been with me that day, maybe both Marcus and I would’ve died too. Out of all the charms on my bracelet, it was the one Marcus gave me that was spared. It always gives me the chills when I think about it.”
    “So, Marcus saved you?” I ask.
    “Yes.” She hesitates. Her eyes look straight into mine.
    “If you don’t want to talk about it, I totally understand. I know it was traumatic for you,” I say, empathizing with how painful the memory must be to recall it.
    “It’s okay. Some of it’s a blur, but I remember there was an explosion, our boat caught fire, we went overboard, and Marcus saved me first and went back to try and save David, but it was too late.” She lowers her eyes—I sense she feels guilt.
    “David’s death and the guilt of being unable to save him, torments Marcus, although he tries to hide it from me. I’ve heard him cry out to David in his sleep a few times, so I know it haunts him. But he never lets me console him. He’s played my big brother for so long, always the one to be there for me, that he doesn’t know how to accept my help. It tears me up inside that he won’t let me be there for him, the way he is for me.
    “When we were kids, David used to tease me and taunt me, and I’d run to Marcus for help. Marcus and I could talk for hours and I could tell him anything, but it wasn’t that way with David. David was more like an average brother would be, but Marcus was also like a best friend or even maybe a mentor. I looked up to Marcus as much as I did my parents.
    “Although I knew David loved me as I loved him in a normal sisterly/brotherly way, I never really knew how much until that day when he and Marcus covered me with their bodies so I wouldn’t get burned from the debris of the fire.
    “That day I realized both my brothers would risk their lives for me. I can’t keep from crying whenever I think about that. My heart aches every time I think of David and how I’ll never be able to tell him ‘thank you’ and how much I love him.
    “What’s written on this charm,” she says as she touches it again, “is from when we were kids I would tell Marcus, ‘Love you,’ and he would reply back, ‘Always.’ We didn’t say it often, just once in a while when in the mood. Now, every night before we go to bed, we say this in case it’s the last thing either of us hear. We no longer take for granted that we’ll have the opportunity to tell each other that, because life doesn’t care who it hurts, it can take someone away from you without a moment’s notice. I never got to tell my parents how much I loved them, or David, and I live with that empty, unfulfilled piece of my heart every day of my life.”
    “I wish I had a relationship with my sister like you have with Marcus. And what you had with your parents, with my father. Unfortunately, mine is a dysfunctional family,” I tell her honestly.
    “I’m sorry to hear that, Laura.” She looks at me with sadness and compassion in her eyes.
    “I’ve never felt like my father ever really cared about us. Throughout my childhood, we’ve probably been more of a burden to him. I can’t say that I like my father very much.”
    “How about your mother?”
    “My mother left us just before my brother killed himself. I can’t forgive her for that. She left us without even a goodbye, no word, whatsoever. How can a mother do that? Leave her family without even telling them why?”
    “I can imagine how hard it must’ve been for you and your siblings. Especially, you being the oldest, having to be the one to take care of everyone.”
    “Yes. I think maybe that’s why Jade despises me. I’ve had to replace my mom and she resents that.”
    “It’s hard to say what goes on in a person’s mind when an emotional crisis happens to them. Maybe