“I love you.” It was the first time in years that I had said those words toher.
“Love you too, Crickett.” Her eyes rolled back in her head as her slurred words faded. Her last breath was shallow, fleeting. I felt her leave, and Icrumbled.
For what felt like hours, I held her in my arms and cried. Really it was only about twenty minutes before banging started on the front door as Abel’s and Rave’s yelling called tome.
I just sat there, scared to let them into the horrifying scene that I was entrenched in. Part of me didn’t want to open the door because once that happened, it all would be real. The whole nightmare of the past few days would all be too real for me to dealwith.
It didn’t take long for Abel to kick in the front door. I was still a blubbering statue, clinging to my mother’s lifeless body as they busted into the trailer. The light flooded in from the open door, stinging my eyes as they rushed to myside.
Rave grabbed my mom and Abel scooped me into his arms. “Oh, fuck, babe what happened?” I fell apart in his arms. No words would form. It was all just toomuch.
Rave repositioned my mom onto the couch. He rubbed the back of his neck while he stared down at her. “I have to call the cops, Crickett. We have to get this taken careof.”
Abel whispered, “Youdidn’t…?”
I gasped and smacked his chest, pushing away from him with the little energy that I had left. “Who the fuck do you think I am? Do you really think I would kill my ownmother?”
“Babe, don’t take it the wrong way. I had to ask. We don’t know what happenedhere.”
Rave put his hand on my shoulder. “I think we need to have a little chat, sweetheart. I know it’s hard, but you need to let us help you rightnow.”
I followed them into the kitchen, the three of us taking seats around the table. Through light sobbing I told them the whole roller coaster I had been on since I’d stormed out of the bar the daybefore.
“All right. Here’s what’s going to happen.” Rave started to pace around the kitchen. “I am going to call the cops and we’re going to tell them the truth, that Helen offed herself, that Crickett came to take care of her, and that we were just showing up to help out too. No lying, no crazy stories to keep straight. They might ask a lot of questions, but no one can get in trouble here, so there’s nothing to worryabout.”
Rave walked outside to make the call, leaving Abel and I awkwardly sitting in the kitchen staring blankly at thewalls.
“I am so sorry about yesterday,babe.”
I grabbed his hand. “I know you’d never put me in danger, Abel, but the life you live is dangerous. And the fact that you killed that man, it just hauntsme.”
He weaved his fingers with mine. “I will do anything to make it up toyou.”
I took in a deep slow breath and crawled into his lap. “Just loveme.”
I was too tired, too shook up, and too in love with him to fight or push him away any more. He had driven almost thirteen hours to fight for me. It was the first time I experienced what that truly felt like, someone loving me enough to stop at nothing to get meback.
He sighed into me, kissing the top of my head. “You’re mine. I’m never letting you goagain.”
