From the Embers

by Aly Martinez

the dark and bitter parts inside my shattered heart told me he was the man who had survived while the charred fragments left of my husband and my best friend lay in a funeral home across town. Yes, he’d saved my life, but in doing it, he’d sentenced them both to death.

“You’re not having a mental breakdown, Bree. You lost your husband and your best friend a month ago. Give yourself a little grace. You’re allowed to have bad days. You’re allowed to be overwhelmed. You don’t have to keep it together twenty-four-seven just because you have kids.”

Although that was probably more to do with my newfound celibacy than any real attraction. But when you’re lonely, it’s easy to confuse friendship with something more. Something I didn’t even let my mind entertain.

We’ve been through hell the last year. And that’s not including the dumpster fire I found out about today. There were so many nights when everything hurt and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to breathe again. But there you were. With me every step of the way.” I tapped the screen again when it started to dim. “This picture, Bree. It’s not what we have to lose. It’s what I’ve already gained.”

I’m terrified that, if we keep screaming into the past, the future is going to become nothing but an echo.”

Everything you’ve ever touched has been one failure after another.”

“This is all you. Even when people told you to stop and the world quite literally caught fire around us, you kept going. And you did this, Eason. All of this.”