Unforgivable Secrets | One Mistake Away Series Bk 1 [Mob Romance]

Chapter 1 - Returning

MASON:

"Mason! Deer!" My brother's voice screeched out. I had taken my eyes off of the road for a second. But a second was still too long.

Cranking the wheel hard, I avoided the deer, but the patch of ice hadn't been so easy to avoid.

I couldn't brake.

I couldn't crank my wheel a different direction.

We were on a crash course for the iced over pond that had only held good memories. Memories of fishing, swimming, games, relaxation, and life. Not pain, hate, blame, and destruction.

The truck hit the ice with a crunch and crash. A spider web shatter crackled through the windshield, not enough to break through, but enough to make it impossible to see out in the dark pond.

"Cal!" I screamed at my unconscious baby brother, fighting to free myself from the seatbelt bruising my chest. The icy water had all ready started to fill the bottom of the truck by my feet. It's iciness brought more numbness to my all ready chilled toes.

"Come on!" I growled at the mechanism keeping me away from my brother. He was slumped over, blood dripping down his forehead and from his nostrils. He hadn't been wearing a seatbelt. The water was pouring in next to him where his window had broken open.

With a click my seat belt opened up, releasing me from its bruising grasp. The water was all ready up to my waist. With everything I could muster I kicked at the fractured windshield. Once. Twice. Three times and it gave way to a torrent of water threatening to pull me away from my brother.

Stubbornly, I reached out for Cal's arm. From that point on I barely remembered what had happened. I remembered somehow finding my way to the surface, Cal in tow.

"I got you, Cal." I frantically choked, grasping at any part of the shoreline that I could boost us up onto. Coughing up some water, I focused on my baby brother. I dug into the reserves of strength that I didn't know I had and picked Cal up from the muddy, half frozen shoreline. I made it a few feet before my knees buckled, dropping the two of us to the ground. I did my best to keep my body upright and not fall on him. The last thing I wanted to do was crush him.

Tears burned at my eyes as confusion filled my brother's face. He was awake, but the shard of glass through his windpipe left him without a voice. His breathing was labored and pained as he opened his mouth, closing it shortly after.

"Don't try to talk. Everything's going to be okay." I tried to reassure him through my own frantic panic. I could feel blood sliding down my own forehead, probably the result of hitting the steering wheel or glass, but I was too focused on being there for my brother to feel the pain or rub away the warm liquid.

Looking down at the rest of Cal, I tried to keep my panic minimal. Blood seeped through his many lacerations penetrating through the rips and tears in his clothing. It had been a miracle he hadn't went through the windshield, but the crash had caused him to hit everything else in the truck hard. It was impossible to know the extent of his internal damage, but I wagered it wasn't good.

Pinching my eyes closed, I knew his time was limited.

Opening my eyes, I stumbled back, my brows furrowed as I stared at a suitcase of clothes. Reality filled me faster than I knew how to respond. Glancing next to my nightstand I saw my brother's face. A picture I kept with me wherever I went. A reminder that it was still my fault that he was dead. A cruel reality that even though it had happened years ago I would never forget the details of that tragic day. The details that made my life my own personal hell.

Releasing a deep breath, I glanced down at my watch. Time was ticking away and I had a plane to catch. I had left home months after the accident, keeping myself away for the greater good. My parents didn't need to see the trash that killed their favorite son moping around home without a purpose and filled only with regret. Yet here I was, packing, preparing for a return to the place I grew up. Memory lane was about to become more real than just a thoughtful revelation.