Page 40 of Forever Gone

Kelly continued, “I chose it. I wanted people to be scared of me, and you were someone I could hurt without thinking there’d be much of a consequence. There isn’t a better version of it. I could tell you everything I was going through as a kid back then. All the baggage I carried and took out on innocent girls like you. But would that make it better? I don't think so. All I can say is I am genuinely sorry. I'm not that kid anymore. And looking at you, Selena, neither are you."

Selena folded her arms. “My father spoke to yours. Big help that was. It just got worse.”

Kelly's restraint cracked. "Your dad went to mine, and my father grounded me for months. He took my car keys, pulled me out of cheerleading, and made sure I went straight home after school. I was furious with you for that."

“Of course you were.”

“I’m telling you what happened, not asking for sympathy.”

“It sounded close.”

Kelly stepped away from the desk, creating more room between them. “I was angry because someone finally stopped me. I spent years acting as if your father had ruined my life. Later, I understood it was me not facing up to the horrible things I’d done. Home life wasn’t easy. But that was no excuse.”

The anger Selena had carried into the conversation remained, though it no longer found the same target. Kelly was not denying what happened. She was not laughing. That did not erase the tiled locker room or the fear that had shaped Selena’s routes through school.

Some grudges survived because letting go felt too much like agreeing that the damage had been minor.

“Why come here?” Selena asked.

“I told you. I wanted a transfer.”

“You had the whole country.”

“I didn’t get the whole country. I got an offer for Harlan County.”

“You could’ve refused.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Kelly met her directly. “Because I thought it might be a chance to put this behind us.”

Selena gave a short, disbelieving laugh. “You thought showing up unannounced at my office would fix it?”

“No. I thought working with you and doing the job properly might prove I’m not sixteen anymore.”

“That helps you. I’m not sure what it does for me.”

“It gives you another agent on a murder investigation. Isn’t that all that matters?”

The answer irritated Selena because it was practical.

Kelly rested one hand on the desk. “I do feel bad about what I did. I have for years. I should’ve found a way to apologize before now, and I didn’t. That’s on me. But I’m here to solve Karen Sloane’s murder and help you do it.”

Selena turned toward the window.

Outside, the parking lot had brightened. Kelly’s sedan sat beneath the maple; its dark paint scattered with fallen leaves. Beyond it, Eagleton continued through an ordinary morning, unaware that an old conflict had entered the federal office before nine.

Meg had known.

The message made more sense now.

BE NICE.

Selena wondered whether Meg had expected resistance or merely hoped to delay it until Kelly unpacked.

“Fine,” Selena said.