AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Going to the other side of the bed, Delaney gives Savannah a gentle hug. “What the hell happened? Your dad did this to you?”
“Yup.” She pops the p, not lacking any bit of her usual sass. “He’s such a standup guy.”
The two of them talk, once again going over the events that make my heart nearly stop. It doesn’t get any easier, no matter how many times I hear it. Still, I constantly rub my thumb over Savi’s so she knows I’m here for her. If I had lost her today, I don’t know what I would have done with myself. I was silly to think that I could ever live a life that doesn’t completely revolve around her, let alone one without her in it at all.
“Uh, Grayson?” Delaney gets my attention. “Why do you look like a walking Halloween decoration?”
I look down and realize that I’m still covered in blood. It’s as if Savannah didn’t realize it either, because her eyes double in size when she sees it. Knowing it’s her own probably makes it so much worse.
“Yeah, man. You should probably change your clothes,” Brady suggests. “Want me to drive you back to your car?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to leave her alone.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Delaney offers.
I’m conflicted, not wanting to leave her side at all, but they’re right. I glance at Savannah, making sure she’s okay with me leaving for a bit. If she asks me to stay, there isn’t a thing in the world that could pull me from her side.
“It’s fine, babe. Really.”
I kiss her softly and rest my forehead against hers. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she says with a smile, and Laney beams, rainbows nearly shooting from her chest in joy.
Brady says a quick goodbye to Savannah, promising he’ll come back in the morning, and the two of us head out. It’s a quiet trip to the car, but as soon as we get in, he turns to me.
“You know, I still don’t like you. I don’t think you deserve her, and you’re lucky as hell she doesn’t hate you for what you’ve done. That being said, you saved my best friend’s life today, and that’s something I’ll never be able to repay. So, thank you.”
He extends his hand toward me and I shake it. It’s a truce of sorts. A ceasefire. I don’t think he and I will ever be friends, but Savannah means almost as much to him as she means to me, and I respect that.
LATER THAT NIGHT, DELANEY and I are quietly scr
olling through our phones while Savannah rests, when Officer Jenson returns. He has a solemn look on his face as he gestures for me to join him in the hall. Laney joins me, and the three of us step into an empty room.
“Did you find the bastard?” I question urgently.
He nods and looks down at the ground. “We did.”
“And? Did you arrest him?”
“No.”
“Why the fuck not?” I shout. “You said yourself her injuries and her statement are enough to charge him! What are you waiting for?”
His eyes meet mine and hold my heated stare. “Mr. Montgomery is dead. He committed suicide.”
29
Savannah
It’s a strange feeling, knowing both your parents are gone. When I was younger, and my dad told me that my mother had died in a car accident, I was beside myself. I don’t think I stopped crying for an entire week. All the happiness in my life had vanished completely, until Gray brightened everything up again. But now, lying in this bed while Grayson and Delaney break the news about my father, I don’t feel any of that.
“Baby, say something,” Grayson pleads.
I take another moment to let it sink in, waiting for the devastation to come, but it never does. When it comes down to it, I lost my father the day he decided to put gambling before his daughter. The man I’ve lived with for the past eight years was not my dad.
“Sucks for him. I’ve heard hell is a horrible place.”
Delaney’s jaw drops while Grayson snorts. He leans forward and places a kiss to my forehead, relieved by the fact that I’m okay. To be honest, I’m more than okay. I’m relieved.
