“I’m so sorry, my love.”
His small frame crumples, and so does Meredith. She pulls him closer, wrapping herself around him. They collapse into each other, sobbing, shaking with grief.
“It will be okay, baby,” I hear her murmur.
But it’s not okay. How can it ever be?
Watching them, I feel a piercing ache in my chest. I want to go to them, join them, say something. I should do something. But I can’t. What comfort could I give? It was my stupid plan that caused all of this.
I’ve failed. Failed my father and the town.
27
Isit on the edge of my bed, staring at the floor but not really seeing it. My mind is empty.
It’s too much to take in, everything that has happened in the last few weeks. My mother’s sudden death, being sent to this town, a stranger in my own father’s house. Everything I’d learned about him, the good and the bad, and now this.
He’s gone.
A week ago, I wonder if I would have grieved for him. We were never close, but now I know he had no other choice. He wasn’t a good man, but I can see now that he wasn’t entirely bad either. He did terrible things in the name of protecting this town, his home that he was bound to and couldn’t leave. He was willing to sacrifice an innocent man to keep us all safe. And in the end, he died taking one last stance against the evil that haunts Sleepy Hollow.
I tried to save him.
I thought I could. I thought I could buy us more time.
I wipe at my face with trembling fingers. My cheeks are hot and sticky from the tears that stopped a while ago, but I still feel raw and empty inside.
None of it matters anymore.
He’s gone and the Horseman is free.
And it’s my fault.
I squeeze my eyes shut, gripping the bedsheets, and try to listen for any noise outside. The town is silent outside my window, but it’s only a matter of time.
The past week plays behind my eyes like a movie on a loop. Arriving, Brom and I rekindling our friendship. Another person I had lost along the way after our fight. My father keeping his distance, as he always has. Meredith, poor Meredith, being so open and welcoming. The deaths. The Horseman.
And of course, Ichabod.
There’s a soft knock at the door. I can’t bring myself to answer it, but the door opens slowly anyway.
“I thought you might be up here.” Ichabod’s voice is quiet.
I don’t look up. I can’t.
A moment later, the bed dips as he sits beside me. He doesn’t speak straight away, he just sits there, a silent but comforting presence. He bumps my shoulder with his uninjured one.
“So, I finally get to see your room. I like what you’ve done with the place.” He motions at the bundle of clothes I have piling up in the corner.
The corner of my mouth lifts, but my eyes remain glued to the floor.
“Meredith and Toby are in his room, down the hall,” he continues. “She’s trying to keep him calm but… it can’t be easy.”
My throat aches as I swallow around a hard lump.
He shifts his weight, and I can tell he’s turned to look at me. “You can’t blame yourself for this. Any of it.”
I let out a short, bitter laugh. “Can’t I?”
