The Secret Read Online Free PDF Page A

shouldn’t have said you saw him,” I whisper, tears steadily streaming down my cheeks. “Saying that? Letting us go through all of this when you didn’t know deep down into your soul that he was gone? That was the ultimate betrayal, Matt. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you for this.”
    “Please don’t say that,” he whispers again, his voice cracking.
    “Maybe you should go, man,” Jack says quietly, pulling him away from me and turning him to walk back towards his car with him and promising to call. “Give her some time.”
    Nodding back at him, Jack offers him into a brotherly embrace. Chase bends down in front of me, pulling me into his arm s and holding me there tightly. He lifts me into his arms and makes his way over to the chair on the porch, keeping me straddling his lap as I sob into his chest.
    “I’ll be right in here if you need me, Soph,” I hear Jack say softly as he makes his way back to the door, stopping to touch my arm reassuringly.
    It’s when the door closes that I feel the last bit of strength I have leave me. The last thing I remember before falling asleep in Chase’s arms hours later is his deep voice in my hair.
    “ It’s okay, Baby. I’ve got you. I’m right here.”
     
    Ana
    After all the commotion of the day we’d just experienced, we all decided staying in Camden another night was for the best.
    Since Lucy and JT were staying in our childhood home now, Jack would be coming back to Corpus with Drake and me for a while. Everything is still so new and things were so different from when he left, he’s not had time to think about his next step.
    While he’d admitted that he understood Sophie moving on and he was glad she was happy, I could tell it was killing him to see her with Chase.
    Honestly, it will be weird for me now, too. Chase is a great guy and I know he loves Sophie. Now that I know Jack is alive though, her being with anyone else just doesn’t feel right. At the same time, I can’t imagine her not being with Chase. Knowing how much she loves them both, I can’t imagine what she’s feeling right now.
    One look at her and it’s clear that So phie is an absolute mess.
    Afte r Matt leaves, I don’t see her again until Chase carries her into the house at one in the morning. When they come in, Jack and I are still up, sitting at the table and talking.
    G ently, Chase lays her on the couch, removes her boots before pulling his jacket off and placing it over her small frame. After making sure she’s settled enough, he lets out a deep breath and turns to face us.
    “How is she ?” I ask.
    “I don’t know,” he shakes his head, answering honestly. “She’s exhausted, I know that much. I’m going to talk to Drake and see about taking a few more days off. I hope it’s cool for us to crash here? I know it’s a little awkward,” he admits as he looks between Jack and me. “I just don’t want to wake her up.”
    “ Of course,” Jack says immediately, surprising me a little. “Let her sleep.”
    “Thanks,” Chase offers. He seems to be about to speak again when we hear Sophie moving on the couch, distracting us.
    When she lets out his name in a small whimper, he walks away immediately and crouches down to her side and brushing the hair away from her face.
    “I’m right here, Sweetheart,” he reassures her.
    “Please stay,” she says, her small voice sounding broken.
    “Okay, Baby,” he whispers before stretching out on the couch beside her, pulling her onto his chest. When she starts sniffling into his chest again, we hear him begin humming into her hair.
    Jack slowly brings his hands up, rubbing his face and causing my heart to ache for him. Reaching over, I squeeze his arm and scoot over closer to him. After a few minutes of sitting in near silence, I hear him clear his throat before abruptly standing up.
    “I’m gonna try and get some sleep,” he says suddenly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “You okay?” I ask as I