Brie

“What about us?” My voice hangs in the air between us. The room goes so quiet and still I can feel the Asteria gliding back into open water, the rocky, uneven bounce of sailing through the shallows finally settling.

I wait for him to tell me to come with him. I wait, and wait, my heart squeezing with each second that passes, but I already know he won’t.

His eyes already paint his answer clearly.

He’s sacrificing the family he was given–the family he loves that loves him in return. He’s not going to ask me to make the same mistake.

My body slumps against the weight of it,...