Chapter 3

HIM

She'd waved. (Nisandra Dithers waved to me.) Trenton Gale's chest constricted under what the ramifications of such a harmless action meant for him, for her. Walk away, he told himself. "Your life doesn't need any more complications."

Trenton peered over at Nisa as Spencer guided her to one of the waiting black sedans. Why was Spencer touching her? Are they back together?

When he realized that he was reacting to Spencer's presence, the guy's closeness to Nisa, Trenton had to make an effort to calm down. He unlocked his clenched jaw, relaxed the grip on his umbrella handle, opened his fisted hand that sat at his side, and breathed deeply until his pulse slowed.

"Would you like to meet Nisa, Gale?" Derek would ask, always after a contemplative silence.

Trent had always declined.

It hadn't been a good idea for him to get to know a girl like Nisandra Dithers. She was... She was what he wasn't. Nisa was all he ever wanted and every bit of what he should never have. She was focused, determined, and had her shit together. She was someone he shouldn't even be thinking about.

Besides, he'd had all that in a girl once and hadn't appreciated it. Trent's mind drifted back to a time when he had the world in his hands and that world included Trisha Bell. Short blonde hair, bright blue eyes, bow shaped lips that had a constant adorable pout. He shook his head.

(Life had been perfect then.)

It hadn't been, and Trent knew that. All his memories were not exactly the way things had happened. Trisha had been kind and caring. He had been and still was a grand mess but he liked the fantasy his mind conjured more than the reality he lived.

Ignorance was bliss, and accepted ignorance was...Trent's therapy.

("I love you, Trent. Do you love me?"

"I don't want to get into this right now Trish. Please, let's just watch the game.")

Trent moved the umbrella aside and looked up at the sky. He allowed the rain to coat his face for a few seconds as he shook the unwanted memory from his mind then looked around the cemetery. With most everyone gone around the grave, Trent scrubbed his hand over his face and walked over to stand beside Derek's grave.

The men packing up the chairs and rolling up the green tarp paid him no mind as he approached. Trent stopped at the ledge of the hole and looked down.

"I don't think I can keep that promise I made you," Trent said, under his breath, as he shifted from one foot to the other, "but I know you'll understand. You were good at understanding." Trent rubbed his brow then wiped away the tears that slid from his eyes. He cleared his throat as he looked to where Nisa had been driven off in the black sedan. "I'm sorry Derek."

Trent rushed off, weaving through the graveyard, in the opposite direction from which Nisa had gone. He jogged the rest of the way to his car, pulling his umbrella closed as he did. He would never forget the kid who offered him a welcoming smile during a difficult time in both their lives. Derek would always be with him. But Derek's sister Nisa, the woman he never knew on a personal level but heard so much about, must be forgotten.