Chapter Twenty-Five
Ezra
S carlet sparks of hatred sizzled through my mind as the nurse spoke on the other side of Mother’s bedside.
“The surgeon stopped her internal bleeding,” the nurse said. “She suffered three cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist, and damage to her left leg. The doctor should be able to answer your questions about her mobility.”
Lilly and I were then requested to leave Mother’s room to let her rest. As soon as we exited, I sent the text.
Me: Meet me at the cliff.
I could not lose my mother too.
When I arrived at Skeleton Cliff, Levi’s car was absent from the trailhead.
I’d chosen the cliff because it was where he harbored his deep-seated animosity toward me, blaming me for his father’s death.
It would now, ironically, become the place where I killed him. Extreme? Maybe. But someone had to pay for my dad being in prison, the pot being stolen, Mari leaving me, and my mother’s accident. I knew I should stop, turn around, and end this, but I couldn’t.
I climbed out of my truck, slammed the door, and stalked toward the edge. Looking over the precipice made me woozy, so I backed away. The serene view did nothing to ease my loathing.
A small cry screamed from the depths of my subconscious.
Don’t do this. What are you thinking? This isn’t you.
No, it wasn’t. But it would be. Levi and Duncan Shaw forced me to be this person. Years of being accused of murder while trying to do the right thing created a heat inside of me that couldn’t be cooled. If Levi Shaw wanted a villain, he’d get one.
In all our years of contempt for each other, I’d never denied his blatant accusal of murder. I thought denying his accusations would make them seem real. Now I would tell him the truth.
I had nothing to do with his father’s death.
Nothing.
I let him hate me because it felt good to mutually dislike each other. If I’d admitted my innocence, his hostility might abate, and then my contempt would look petty. Our feud worked when we had equal amounts of hatred toward each other.
The sound of a truck approaching poured water on my burning anger. He was here. Suddenly, the thought of murdering him seemed rash.
What was I thinking?
Three figures came through the woods. Levi with a dog beside him, and then . . .
The water cooling my anger turned to gasoline when I saw her.
Mari.
With him.
Flames of envy consumed me.
She trailed behind him as they approached, a book in her hands. I was right. She’d gone back to him. She’d lied when she said the football game meant nothing.
Levi gestured in surrender. “Can we talk?”
The smell of the hospital still clung to me. I might lose another family member because of him. Just when I thought I couldn’t lose anything else.
“I’ve got something you need to read.” He tossed me a book, but it fell in the grass.
“Now isn’t the time for reading.”
“It’s a letter that explains—”
“Shut up!”
He raised his hands again. “I know you didn’t kill my daddy.”
My cheek twitched. The inferno inside me sought for a foothold. My fury found its center in an image of my mother’s broken body lying in the hospital bed. “You knew those boys were drinking and driving, and yet you didn’t report them.”
He dropped his arms as his shoulders slumped. “If I could go back—”
“And you.” I pointed at Mari. “You lied. You left me for him.”
“No.”
“You’re both liars. You don’t care if your actions ruin the people around you. I have nothing because of you.”
The feeling of Marigold’s curves and scent beside me in bed brushed against my memory. I stepped toward her. Levi shielded her body with his. “I told you about my future!” I screamed over his shoulder. “When I imagined it, you were there. The winery. Kids. A house in the mountains. It was all with you!” Spit flew from my lips as I screamed.
I wanted that dream. I still wanted her, but she didn’t want me.
The veins inside my muscles seemed to turn to liquid iron as the weight of what I’d lost coursed through my bloodstream. For once, the color I saw wasn’t red.
It was black.
Mari was my second chance. Now she was Levi’s. I lunged toward her without thought. I just wanted to hold her, maybe shake her or kiss her. I didn’t know.
Levi set his boots and took my weight.
Mari screamed.
The dog bit at my legs.
“Stop,” Levi cried. “The letter said—”
I didn’t hear the rest of his sentence. It was drowned out by a piercing, hollow scream in my mind. I couldn’t tell if it was Mari or the cry of my soul dying as I did what my body begged me to. I couldn’t think, reason, or stop.
The dog sank its teeth into my ankle while my hands clenched Levi’s shirt tightly, oblivious to the pain searing through me. My fingers bunched around the fabric as his eyes met mine. He set his feet against the rock, but dirt and pebbles kept him from gaining traction. Gritting his teeth, he struggled against me.
We stared at each other in the seconds before. He focused on trying to win solid footing. His face didn’t cringe in fear. His palms pushed as his feet scrambled. Through it all, he maintained a steady gaze on me. There was a calmness there. A peace.
His expression reminded me of the Labor Day games. How, for a second, we’d been brothers again.
Sweat slicked the space between my fingers and his clothing. We moved toward the edge. Black covered my vision. The scream intensified. Levi released me, windmilled his arms, and tried to step forward instead of back.
His hands found my shoulders. He didn’t clutch or grab; instead, he just placed them there. “I’m sorry, brother.”
Then we were at the side. The dog released my calf as his legs went over.
I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t.
Levi stared right at me as he said, “I forgive you.” Then he fell backward over the precipice.