AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wrap my arm around Sara’s shoulders, unable to keep myself from touching her.
Cooper gestures to our car still parked in the middle of the road. “Let’s go end this.”
42
SARA
The pop of a cork makes me look up from the notebook I’m staring at. “Really, Nat? Champagne?”
She quirks her eyebrow at me from across my kitchen, then proceeds to pour a massive amount into a glass tumbler. She splashes some orange juice into the glass before handing it to me. “Drink up, buttercup. In the last two months, you’ve been attacked, had your house broken into, been kidnapped, and then almost killed. I think of anyone, you deserve this the most.”
“When you put it like that, I can’t really argue with you.” I lift the glass into the air, toasting Natalie for her brilliant thinking, then take a drink. The ratio of champagne to OJ makes me cough.
“You want one, Cindy?” Natalie asks as my mom comes to stand next to me at the island.
“Please. We’ve got some celebrating to do.” Mom wraps her arms around my shoulders to give me a squeeze.
It’s been two weeks since Michelle and Gabe kidnapped me, and it feels like it was both yesterday and a lifetime ago.
Michelle is awaiting trial in jail after the judge deemed her to be a danger to society. My statement spurred police to investigate other murders in the areas Michelle has lived, and it turns out, my hunch was correct. She’s killed other people who went against her idea of family, not just her parents.
Gabe got transferred to an institution when his psych evaluation indicated he was not capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong. I’m not sure what will happen to him now, but I hope he can get the help he needs.
I’ve been trying to work through my own emotions about everything that’s happened, but it hasn’t been easy. It all feels like a hazy dream at this point. Like a nightmare I’m still trying to shake off. I imagine it’s my brain’s way of coping with the trauma of almost dying. If the memories are cloudy, it makes them easier to ignore.
I don’t want to ignore them, though. That’s what I did the first time I was attacked, and it only compounded my issues. I made everything worse by choosing to shove down the feelings I was experiencing. I’m determined to address every reaction or trigger that happens instead of pushing them away as if they aren’t actually happening to me.
“What are you working on?” Nat asks, coming to stand next to me with her mimosa in hand.
“The fundraiser is a week away now, so I’m going through our final to-do list to make sure everything is ready. Ben’s in Greensboro today, picking up the rest of the stuff we couldn’t get here.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?” Mom asks.
I take a deep breath, recognizing this moment as my chance to start being open with people who love and support me. “I’m not quite ready for a big outing.”
“That’s fair.” Nat slips her arm through mine and leads me to the living room. We sit on the couch while Mom sits in the chair next to me. Koda jumps up next to me and snuggles into my side. I have no idea how he knows something is wrong, but he’s stayed close to me from the minute I got home.
“There’s going to be a lot of things you’ll have to say no to for a while,” Nat says, taking a drink from her glass. “It’s going to be important for you to know when to say no and not feel bad about doing what’s best for you. The guilt is going to make you want to push through, but don’t. It’s not worth it, trust me.” Nat squeezes my hand.
This is why I invited her and Mom over today while Ben was gone. I needed some perspective on how to navigate my responses to things. Since Natalie had both gone through a traumatic experience and is my best friend, I knew she’d be the perfect person.
“Thanks, Nat.”
“You might consider talking to someone, a counselor maybe, about what happened,” Mom suggests.
“You definitely should check into it. It made all the difference for me, and you already know how much Quinn and Hope benefit from it,” Nat reminds me.
“I’ve been making a list of names, and I’ve even gotten on a couple of waiting lists. I’m working on it.”
“Good. Now, can we please talk about Ben?” Mom’s face is pleading and teasing at the same time, making me laugh. Which, if I had to guess, was her goal. She’s always known when I needed help to get out of my head.
“Did you hear he’s the best sex she’s ever had?” Natalie stage-whispers, much to my mortification.
“Natalie!” My face is flaming.
“What? I’m just saying…it’s an important factor.”
“A very important factor. I knew the minute I met him he had some moves.” Mom winks at Natalie.
