Chapter 636

Isabella's question threw me for a loop. I'd never thought about that before. I watched Brandon fall right before me, heard the doctor say the surgery didn't work and even held his ashes in my hands. I dreamed of him coming back, but only when I was asleep. I knew life wasn't like a book or a movie. He was gone, and that was the tough reality. I couldn't change it no matter how much I wished it were different. "I just wish he wasn't gone," I murmured. "So why are you asking me all this if you've already come to terms with it?" Isabella asked. I looked at her. "Something feels... off." "Off how?" Isabella asked, locking eyes with me. "The Howells' reactions don't feel right. And you're so calm like it doesn't even bother you." I knew Isabella cared about Brandon. She shouldn't be acting like this with him gone. "I am sad. Who says I'm not? But he's not coming back no matter how much I mourn." That was the truth—one I'd been repeating to myself, hoping it would finally sink in.