“I ran and left my parents and sister behind. I didn’t even make it to the front door when one of them shot me in the back. That’s the last thing I remember. The sheriff told me I stumbled out onto the porch just as he got to the house. Our neighbors heard our screams and called for help.”
The guilt doesn’t ease from her face, and it has me gripping hold of her chin and forcing her to look at me. “There is nothing you could’ve done to save your family. Don’t for one second feel guilty.”
Because that’s on me. If I had done things differently in the past, I could’ve changed the trajectory of our lives and maybe prevented that night from happening altogether.
Her face crumples under the weight of her grief and trauma. “Those monsters killed my family because my dad was the mayor, and he was clamping down on crime and drugs. They didn’t like it one bit and thought if they could get rid of Dad, they could go on doing whatever they wanted.” She shakes her head. “They were so high on drugs, two of them barely remembered what they did. Trent Crawford and Dustin Baker. But Wesley Porter ... he remembered every detail and sat in that courtroom looking proud of what he did.” Her eyes meet mine again. “His parents were even there to support their murderous son. His father had the same evil look on his face. It terrified me.”
Jesus Christ.
I close my eyes, and squashing Kelcie to me, I breathe through the destructive mess I feel.
We lie for the longest time, clinging to each other as the horrors of that night hang like a dark cloud over us.
Chapter 18
Kelcie
I quickly came home to shower before I go back to Levi’s place.
At this rate, I might as well move in with him.
While I hurry through my routine, I think about earlier. It was so difficult to tell Levi what happened to my family, but I managed. Even though I started having a panic attack, it wasn’t too severe.
Now that I’ve finally spoken about it, I have to admit, I feel a little better. By taking one step at a time, I’m moving forward.
Levi once told me I had to create a new version of myself, and that’s what I’m trying to do. A version who can be happy with him, and even though the grief might never fade, I hope to learn to live with it.
I’ve taken two giant steps today, and I need to process them before I can even think of what to deal with next.
Once I’m done at my place, I rush out the back door and quickly walk across the stretch of lawn before letting myself into Levi’s house. When I see the lit candles on the table, I shut the door so the wind doesn’t blow them out.
Levi comes in from the other doorway, and seeing me, he says, “That was fast.”
“Candles?” I ask.
“I wanted to do something special for you, and it’s the best I could come up with on such short notice.” He walks to a cupboard and takes two plates out, setting them down on the table. “I’m making us turkey sandwiches. I hope you’re okay with that?”
“Of course.”
When I move in the direction of the fridge so I can help, Levi shakes his head and points at the chair nearest to me.
“Sit down. I’ll take care of everything.”
I take a seat and track his every movement as he prepares our sandwiches.
I notice Lick watching Levi anxiously, and getting up, I steal a piece of white meat and break it in two before feeding her. She takes it gently from me, bringing a smile to my face, and I say, “We should get another puppy so Lick isn’t alone.”
“Yeah?”
I crouch down and scratch behind her ears, giving her attention, until Levi murmurs, “Come eat, my muse.”
Climbing to my feet, I go to the sink and wash my hands before I sit down at the table. “Thank you for making dinner for us.”
“You did most of the work yesterday. I just had to slap sandwiches together.”
“Levi.” When his eyes flick to mine, I repeat myself. “Thank you.”
A slight smile tugs at his mouth. “You’re welcome.”
