Chapter 25
SILVER
Spending the week with my brothers was a rollercoaster full of highs and lows, and it was exactly what I needed.
Sean and Simon own a construction business together.
They live in a duplex, with Sean on one side, and Simon on the other, along with his wife, Cheyenne.
Cheyenne and Simon announced that she was pregnant on my first night with them, which brought a lot of celebration, along with sadness because Mom won’t see her first grandchild.
My brothers were determined not to let the holiday be a sad one.
Every day they had us attending some kind of event, a holiday parade, a Christmas display at an art museum, live music at multiple bars.
We even spent an evening driving around to see the Christmas lights like Mom used to take us to do every year when we were kids.
They kept me too busy to dwell much on the past weeks, or to wallow in my heartbreak, but as soon as I crawled into bed at night, Lee was all I could think about. My tears for him and for Mom mixed on the pillow.
I make the trip back feeling better than I did during the drive there, and Calli answers her door with a wide smile. Goblin rushes over as soon as she sees me. A small orange kitten pounces on her, but she swats it out of the way like a mosquito, making Calli laugh.
“Stop it, you bully,” Arlow teases, picking up the kitten while I scoop up Goblin.
“Goblin has actually been extremely patient with her,” Calli says. “She’s a menace.”
“Well, you chose an orange one. What do you expect?” I laugh as Goblin rubs her head on my chin.
“Excuse me, there will be no ginger slander in Kay’s presence,” Arlow says, while the kitten claws her way up to his neck.
“You named her Kay?”
“Short for Chaos,” Calli replies.
“Short for Empress of Chaos,” Arlow corrects, snuggling the kitten under his neck. “Show some respect.” Calli rolls her eyes but the look she gives Arlow is filled with love. These two make me sick.
“I know you probably want to get settled in the cabin, but will you stay for dinner?” Calli asks. “I’ve got a lasagna coming out of the oven in ten minutes.”
“I’d love to. I’m starving.”
Their kitchen is warm, full of laughter and light as we eat. We talk about our plans for the upcoming year, and I realize there are things I’m looking forward to, despite the sadness that keeps trying to pull me down.
“After I get the house situation dealt with, I’m going to reassess my financial state and decide whether I want to take on more employees to keep the coffee shop open later.”
“It’s a good idea,” Arlow says, munching on garlic bread. “I drink more coffee in the evening than the morning.”
“I knew it would appeal to you two nocturnal ghouls.”
They grin at each other. “A nice nitro cold brew before our midnight walk in the graveyard would be just the thing, wouldn’t it, honey?” Arlow asks.
Calli taps her finger on her chin. “Mm, I think I’d prefer a latte.”
After dinner, I head over to the cabin with Goblin and unload my car. I don’t have much since the fire, so it doesn’t take long. Maybe things will be all right now. I’ll rest for a few days until after New Year’s when everyone will get back to work, and I can start working through my to-do list.
A couple of days after I move in, Calli texts that she’s coming over. I’ve barely opened the cabin door when she grabs me in a fierce hug and lets out a sob. Cold terror shoots down my spine. “What happened?” I’m not sure I can take another emergency or tragedy already.
“Nothing,” she chokes out. “I’m sorry. Arlow just told me everything you’ve been through.”
My stomach sinks and I hesitate to reply. I assumed Lee wouldn’t want it known considering he murdered the guy, and I don’t want to reveal anything that he didn’t. What exactly did he tell her?
She hugs me again. “Christ, he tried to drown you! I hope he killed the bastard slow.”
Okay, he told her everything. “I’m okay now.”
“And to think I was worried over the Matheson situation.”
I can’t help the snort of laughter that leaps out of me. “It did sort of get overshadowed by a worse threat. But it’s all over now.”
“Come stay at the house with me. Arlow’s staying with Lee for a couple of days.”
I’m alarmed at that news. “Is Lee okay?”
“He’s alright.” She reaches to squeeze my hand. “Arlow just thinks he could use a friend right now too. They’re grilling steaks and fishing.”
It would be such a relief to talk to Calli about everything. She’s my best friend and it made things harder, not being able to tell her. “Okay, let me grab something to sleep in.”
On our walk back to her house, I ask a question that’s bugging me. “You don’t see Lee any differently, do you? Because he killed him? You know he’d never hurt anyone for no reason.”
“I do know that. And I’m glad you see things that way too.” She looks over at me, the moonlight making her face glow. “Come on, I have some things to tell you that I’ve kept to myself for too long. Lee isn’t the only one with buried secrets.”
Lee is still an ache I can’t find relief from, but the last few days with Calli have really helped me focus on the positive. She talks me into going out for New Year’s Eve with her, Lacey, Trinity, and Arlow. I know they tried to invite Lee, but he refused.
Lacey wants to pregame before we hit the bars. Calli and Arlow pass on that offer, but plan to join us later. When I get to Lacey’s apartment, I use my elbow to knock because my hands are full with a bag of ice and a bottle of tequila.
Music thumps faintly through the door until it swings open and Lacey grins at me. Her cheeks are a little flushed and dusted with glitter. Seeing how happy and excited she looks lightens something inside of me. I’m going to do my best tonight to let go and have fun.
“Happy New Year’s Eve,” she exclaims, dragging me inside. “Are you ready?”
“Hell yes. Calli and Arlow will be here around nine to pick us up for the bar.”
Trinity pops out of the kitchen and takes the ice and tequila from me. “Oh, we’re going to be feeling really good by then,” she announces.
I shrug out of my coat and follow her to the kitchen to see the counter crowded with a blender, salt, glasses, and chopped fruit. “Do you want some help?”
“I’ve got this. You can keep Lacey company. She’s been bouncing off the walls.”
“I heard that!” Lacey calls from the living room.
With a smile, I leave Trinity to it and join Lacey. Her small Christmas tree glows from the corner and the lights she’s strung around the room blink in tune with the music. “Where’s the boyfriend tonight?”
“We spent Christmas with his mother’s side of the family. He spends New Year’s visiting his dad who lives in a care home in Paducah. He has dementia and doesn’t do well around new people, so I didn’t go.”
Trinity enters carrying three glasses and hands one to each of us. “To surviving another year.”
We clink our glasses and drink. The first sip is sharp but delicious, the lime cutting through the burn. I take another larger swallow, determined to put myself in a festive mood. “Is that a new necklace?” I ask Lacey.
She beams and holds it away from her chest for me to see. The clear blue-green gem catches the light. “My gift from Nick.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Aquamarine. It’s my birthstone. What’s yours?”
“I don’t know. Is rock bottom one of them?”
“Stop,” Lacey giggles, taking a sip of her drink. “This is going to be your year. I can feel it.”
Trinity and Lacey start discussing a pop concert they have tickets for as we drain our drinks. Lacey’s phone rattles, and a smile leaps to her face when she looks at it.
Trinity and I trade a knowing grin. “Oh, you’re in deep,” Trinity teases her.
Lacey lays her head back against the couch with a groan. “Ugh, I am. He’s just so sweet. And good in bed. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a guy that doesn’t just snarfle around down there nowhere near the right spots?”
Trinity laughs and takes our glasses to refill them as I reply, “In your age group, absolutely.”
“Oh, so if this doesn’t work out, I need to go older,” Lacey says with a nod.
I hold up my hand. “I wasn’t suggesting that.”
Trinity returns with our fresh drinks, and I’m having a really good time. Maybe Lacey’s right. This will be my year. It sure as hell can’t be as bad as the last.
I sit back on the couch with my legs tucked under me and my glass balanced on my knee while we talk over each other and laugh.
Lacey tells a story about Nick’s pregnant sister throwing a handful of mashed potatoes at her husband on Christmas when he aggravated her that has us all dying with laughter.
Time seems to loosen as the second drink hits me hard. The edges of things start to blur. The buzz feels strange, not like the energized warmth that I’m used to. My tongue feels thick and dry like I’ve burned it with a hot drink. The music begins to sound off, rising and falling in waves.
I blink hard a couple of times, trying to clear a grainy feeling from my eyes.
“Are you okay?” Lacey asks, laughing at something Trinity just said.
“Yeah,” I say automatically. The word feels like it comes out too slowly, and I carefully set my glass down.
“I just need the bathroom.” The floor shifts under me when I stand up too fast and I grab the back of the couch to steady myself.
Lacey doesn’t seem to notice but Trinity’s eyes flick to me and she watches me walk past.
The hallway feels endless, and the bathroom light is way too bright, piercing into my head. My heart feels like it’s beating oddly, too hard but too slow. My reflection in the bathroom mirror shocks me. Glassy eyes, heavily lidded, look back at me from a pale face.
Something’s wrong with me. I’m going to have to tell the girls. I splash water on my face, but the cold barely registers, and I grip the sink because my legs have suddenly turned hollow like they may fold under me.
I can hear music from the living room but no talking, and I try to call out, but my voice won’t cooperate. I manage to open the door and stumble back into the hallway. My vision tunnels, darkness creeping in at the edges, and it takes all my strength to focus on getting back to the living room.
My knees buckle, and I grab for the coffee table, missing it. My shoulder clips it on the way down but it’s a painless thump before my hands hit the carpet, breaking my fall. I can see Lacey sprawled on the couch, her head tilted back, mouth slightly open. God, is there a gas leak or something?
“Lacey.” My attempt to call her name only results in a wheezy breath as I reach my arm toward her.
“She’s fine,” Trinity says, leaning over me. No amount of blinking will let me see her clearly.
I try to crawl, but my arms won’t work right, sliding along the floor instead of pressing against it. The sound of the door opening reaches me, and another woman’s voice gives a command.
“Hurry up. That shit wears off quick.” Fear strikes sharply through the fog, but I can’t even lift my head to see anything. I want to scream for help. I want to fight back. I want Lee.
“What about Lacey?” Trinity asks. My vision fractures, the blinking Christmas lights smearing into streaks of color before my eyes refuse to open again.
“Leave her. Grab the whore.”
I can feel two sets of hands on me. I’m being carried and my heavy body begins to feel lighter as darkness closes in. It feels like I’m a bag of sand, leaking as I’m carried along.
I’m not sure how long I’m unconscious before the sound of a slamming door and voices reach me again. My eyes won’t open, but I feel myself being pulled out of a vehicle.
“Can I go?” Trinity asks. “I did everything I promised.”
“I told you you’re free when I get what I want, and we aren’t finished yet. Now help me get her inside and get your ass back out here to stand watch.”
As I’m being carried, I manage to pull my eyelids open for a moment. The full moon shines above me. It’s probably the last time I’ll see it.