“So deep,” Breeze choked out, looking at the page in her hand.
“That’s what she said,” I mumbled half-heartedly.
But the words had landed somewhere deep inside me. Olivia had captured the very thing I’d tried to put into words at her funeral.
“Sort of makes her sound happy to go.” I added, chewing my cheek.
Breeze nodded, handing me back the page. Her scripted handwriting was beautiful. A true art form. There would be so much of Olivia that the world never got a chance to know.
A chopping board and tray of vegetables found their way next to me as Breeze moved her Sunday evening prep out the front.
“Page two?” she asked.
“Looks like a statement. Well, it saysOlivia Mae Pratt’s official statement,so…” I trailed off, my wit having evaporated with the day.
“Mae’s a pretty middle name.” Breeze smiled, though her eyes had grown serious again.
“It is,” I agreed.
I wondered who had once loved her enough to give her that name.
As I read the contents of the letter, I took an unconscious step away from Breeze, realising what it was. I felt immediately protective of it. If anyone read this, they would know my secrets too.
Olivia had outlined the abuse she’d suffered at Bellamy Children’s Home, including several specific examples. One of them, I remembered clearly, although she’d referred to me only asthe other child. It went on for pages—more details, more names. Lissy Fotherington was one of them.
All I could do was skim. It was like trying to digest something toxic. Like Breeze had said earlier, this was way above my pay grade. These pages were meant for someone who could do something about it. Someone who wasn’t me.
I’ve tried for years to find the videotapes made during these years in the hope they would back up my words and validate some of the previously dismissed statements of other survivors. After many personal investigations, including gaining access to the location they were originally filed – that was a polite was of admitting to breaking into the children’s home and scaring me half to death – I realised they were probably destroyed when the house was closed.
A mixture of relief and regret filled me. I wanted those people to suffer now in a way I hadn’t before, and I didn’t want Olivia’s death to go unnoticed. I didn’t want those tapes ever to be seen by another living soul, yet I wanted to throw them down in front of a judge and jury and challenge them to dismiss her now.
And I wanted Miss Lissy—whose name appeared more than once on Olivia’s list—never to be allowed near another child again.
My throat tightened at the thought of Ema. I’d been careless enough to leave her to her fate just two nights ago, repeating my history with Olivia.
Shame filled me like bile.
I wanted the people who had gone on living as if they hadn’t ruined the lives of countless children to be held responsible. Or drawn and quartered. I wasn’t picky.
The bell above the front door jingled, and Dax walked in, holding a slobbering chocolate Labrador by the collar.
The colour drained from my face.
“Wondered if I’d find you here,” he said to Bill, who jumped up to greet the dog. “You weren’t home when I called in, but I found this guy roaming around on my run.”
His black basketball shorts finished just above his knees, revealing the curve of his toned quads.Drool.I already knew what was beneath the t-shirt from when my hands had done some very unsubtle exploring during our kiss.
I hated that I hadn’t noticed him coming early enough to run. But where would I go anyway? Upstairs? I'd have to see him eventually.
Breeze kept chopping, letting her gaze flick between me and Dax. Thankfully, he was still distracted by a bounding dog whose tail was getting threateningly close to the jar of sugar on the table.
“Cado! Silly boy” Bill exclaimed, giving the Labrador a pat. “Having my coffee and then we’ll go home,” he said to the dog, ignoring the rest of us.
I was coming around to the idea that I could be a dog person. Taco made an excellent case for it. But I couldn’t stop watching the threads of drool dripping from the Labrador’s mouth like slime threatening a health violation.
“Could he wait outside by any chance?” I said to Dax, who was crouched on the ground with an arm around Cado.
Dax's eyes shifted to me, and he stumbled in his stance, nearly falling on his ass. Guess he wasn't expecting to see me here.
