Page 138 of Coordinates of Death

“Take your time.”

“That’s just it. I don’t think we have much time left, and I need to get it off my chest.” She drew in a long breath before continuing. “When I turned thirteen, I found my mother reading my diary, and I called her some nasty names. Then I slapped her, and she slapped me back.” Aurora averted her gaze, reliving the moment. “I’ll never forget the look on her face. She was both surprised and devastated that her remaining daughter would hit her. Shocked me too, but I was in a terrible place.”

“What did she say?”

“Nothing. After she slapped me, she reached out and caressed my cheek before backing out of the room. That night Dad took her to the Gravenstone Institute.” She buried her head in her hands. “It was all my fault.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. You were only a teenager. I’m sure your mother didn’t think that either.”

She lifted her gaze to his. “I thought she did all these years because she refused to let me visit her. It was only when SBK sent me her journals that I discovered the truth. She didn’t blame me and asked me to forgive her. All those wasted years with my darkest secret eating away at me.”

“What do you mean? What secret?”

Aurora stood and paced the small room. “After my mother was institutionalized and died, I succumbed to a deeper depression but hid it. I went through the motions of going to school, church, band practice. Everything.” She fingered the plate on the table. “Then you arrived at the Roches.” She returned to the slab and sat, resting her hand over his. “You befriended me and shone a light into my darkened world. I came out of my pit, but then . . .”

“The Roches abducted you, and I left, leaving you in the dark again.”

“Yes.”

He jerked his hand away and rose. “I’m so sorry, Rory, that I wasn’t there for you.”

She stood and met his painful gaze. “I understand why now, Kord. But then I found out I was pregnant, lost the baby, and was still grieving my mother’s death. I spun back out of control and began doubting myself again, feeling responsible for Mom’s and Anna’s deaths. I started asking myself questions like . . . was I like my mother? Would I, too, want to end my life like she did?”

Kordell’s jaw dropped. “Did you try?”

“Almost.” She looked away, not wanting to find judgment on his handsome face. “I found some of Mom’s pills she wasn’t allowed to take to the institute and waited for Dad to go to work. I said I was sick and couldn’t go to school.”

“What happened next?” Once again, he guided her chin to meet his gaze. “Rory, you won’t get judgment from me. Remember, I’m still missing twelve hours of my life, and I pummeled Sebastian.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“Keep going. What made you not take the pills?”

“Mom.” She smiled. “I opened my nightstand drawer and dug for a tissue. I found my mother’s Bible buried on the bottom. I never noticed she’d left it for me.”

“What? Why didn’t she take it with her?”

Aurora shrugged. “She had more than one, but this one was her favorite, and she left a bookmark in a passage. It was like she was speaking to me from the grave.”

“What verse?”

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” Aurora sighed. “I don’t know how, but the verse flooded me with a peace I never knew was possible. I flushed the pills down the toilet and went to school.”

Kordell puffed out a breath. “Now, that’s what I call a God intervention.”

“You talking to God now?”

He took her hand. “Yes, I’ve finally realized that He had been in every dark corner of my life. I was blinded by my stupidity and stubbornness.” He paused. “You’re wrong about me. I did hurt Sebastian.”

She gasped.

His gaze shifted to the floor.

This time, it was Aurora’s turn to guide his gaze back to hers. “Kord, no judgment here. Those boys were rotten to the core. You aren’t.”

“And God has forgiven me. While I still don’t remember much from those twelve hours, I remember my bruised and bloody knuckles, so I’m pretty sure I beat him. Now I know why I carried such guilt throughout my life. Deep down, my conscience knew what I’d done.”

Aurora rubbed his arm. “But God has forgiven you.”