Page 2 of Unharmed

The officers had informed me my fiancé died. I learned he’d been out running through the wooded trail five miles from the dog park like he always did, and somewhere along that trail, he died.

Graham was bitten by a poisonous snake. He succumbed before anyone found him.

It was the worst day of my life.

And on top of losing Graham, I lost Henry, too. He’d gone missing, which was so out of character for him. He adored Graham, and for a long time, I kept telling myself Henry must have taken off in hopes of finding help for Graham.

Utterly devastated, I made finding Henry my focus. He was all I had left of Graham. Sadly, after weeks of no luck, I gave up my search. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

From that point forward, it was all a blur. I didn’t get out of bed for days. No, weeks. I didn’t want to do anything or go anywhere.

And everyone else just kept going about their business like nothing happened. How was that possible? Why hadn’ttime stopped? Why hadn’t the world slowed down just a bit to give me the time I needed to wrap my head around the fact I’d lost it all?

That was one of the tough lessons.

Death was a part of life, and no matter how much I wanted to rewind, go back, and get more time, I didn’t have any say in the matter.

Nobody knew how much time they had left.

By the time I found the strength to try to join the land of the living again, weeks after Graham’s funeral service, it was right at the beginning of fall. And with the season change, a whole slew of new problems arose with Graham’s family. They’d never liked me, so I should have expected as much.

And in another situation, I might have responded differently than I did. But I was in the very worst time of my life, so I wasn’t prepared to fight them. I did what I had to do to get away from them.

I suffered through the holiday season, feeling alone and absolutely miserable. I’d lost everything. My fiancé, my home, and my dog.

But today, just a few weeks into the new year, something came over me. I realized I needed to find a way to pick up the pieces of my life.

So, I started to unpack the boxes inside my apartment, and that’s when I stumbled on Graham’s phone. I didn’t know what prompted me to do it—nostalgia, perhaps—but I plugged it in and charged it, so I could open it up and go through the pictures. I figured he’d have photos or videos of the two of us I didn’t have on my phone, and I wanted them.

I never expected I’d turn on the phone, go to the cameraroll, and find a video of Graham by himself, especially not one like this.

Slowly, I took a deep breath and tried to prepare myself to watch the video in its entirety once more. But there was no amount of preparation that would help. Nothing was going to ease my trembling hands, churning stomach, and racing heart. Not when I knew what I was going to hear.

Though I probably shouldn’t have, I slid my finger across the screen and dragged the video back to the start. Then I pushed play.

“If you’re watching this video, it’s likely I’m already dead. And I need you to know the truth.” Graham paused and swallowed. There was such an edge of nervousness in his tone. “There was a mix-up at the dog park. Something completely unintentional happened, and by the time I realized my mistake, I panicked, and it was too late.” There was another extended silence, and this one was the one that set my emotions running wild, because Graham got emotional. “I did something I’m not proud of, but I did it to keep you safe, Lamise. I never would have done it if I thought I had a choice. I didn’t have a choice, not if I wanted to protect you. But now, things are spiraling, and I might have done it all for nothing. Anyway, I wanted—” Graham stopped speaking and grew visibly and chillingly alert as he looked away from the phone and off to his side, terror in his eyes. Something washed over his expression, something that indicated he’d accepted what was coming. He turned to face the camera again, dropped his voice lower, and said, “I don’t think I have much time. I’m so sorry, Lamise. Please know how much I love you. I hope things don’t go south, but if they do, please take care of yourself, be safe, and find happiness again.”

That’s where the video ended.

For several long moments, I stared at his handsome face. Handsome and terrified. The worst part about it was that I didn’t know if he was terrified for himself or for me. Maybe it was both. Clearly, he believed I was in danger.

I spent months believing the man I’d fallen in love with had tragically and unexpectedly passed away. Now, I knew that wasn’t the truth at all.

My fiancé had been murdered, and someone made it look like an accident.

ONE

Banks

Smiles were tough to come by these days, so whenever there was a situation that presented itself and something allowed me to feel even a hint of positivity, I ran with it.

So, when I descended the stairs and saw what I did when I entered the family room in my house, I didn’t stop myself from leaning into the feeling it gave me.

My boy.

Rhys.

He was my only reason for finding the strength to get up and do what needed to be done each day. Everything I did was for him.

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