Page 54 of Savage Salvation

“You should’ve told me,” I say but understand why he didn’t.

“Yes, I should’ve. But she holds the finances over my head too. But I promise, if you have questions, from here on out, you’ll get the truth from me.” His eyes look back at the house. “Because none of this shit is worth the money.”

“That we can agree on.” Once I’m sitting in my car, so much runs through my mind, and the only thing I cling onto is all this happened over money. All my suffering, all the grief. Was that mom’s motivation to sleep with a man twice her age? No. I won’t question her memory. And now, I won’t ever hear her voice again. Or even get a stupid letter from her. And I wonder if this truth would’ve been better buried along with her. Because all I feel in my stomach is knots, thinking about all of it, especially my mom. And I don’t like it.

38

Gage

Two Weeks Later

“I have to do something.” I clutch the phone to my ear, watching her through the patio door. She’s sitting on the edge of the swimming pool, her feet skimming the water as she stares into it.

Most of the time, she’s fine. Back to her feisty, telling-me-to-shove-it-up-my-ass self. But when she thinks no one is looking, the façade slips, and the pain shows through. But she forgets, my eyes have never left her and never will. But I don’t know how to fix it.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Hayden informs me.

“Yeah, says the one who is more stubborn than me.”

“Touché. Did getting him kicked out of Sacred Creed help any?”

“Yes. It helped.” It didn’t take much for Cabot to expel Wagoner and send him on his way. I think the principal was actually happy to be rid of him. I know I am. It helped the thought of finishing the year out at Sacred Creed. And Kinsley decided to stay. I swore I’d be on my best behavior and I do try (most of the time), but she just seems to be going through the motions. She seems lost.

“Well, come out for a visit. Maybe a change of scenery will help.”

“Yeah. Maybe so.” Something has to. The PI has been digging for the last two weeks for all information about Kinsley’s parents, but so far, nothing’s turned up to give her comfort. Or any answers since the one thing she was expecting to receive from her mom was stripped away after suffering under the Wagoners for years.

“Gage, we need to decide.”

“On what?”

“The estate.”

“I don’t want the damn house. I told Walter that a million times.”

“Yeah. Me too. But he seems convinced that we shouldn’t drop it since the property has been in the Hawthorne family for generations.” I have a legacy, and I still feel lost. She doesn’t know hers, and she’s lost. We both need to make our own.

“I have an idea.”

“Oh shit.” Hayden laughs. “Let me hear it.”

“I need to iron out a few details, but I’ll call you later.”

We say our goodbyes and I disconnect, missing my brother now more than ever. And I don’t think it’ll ever go away.

Stepping out the door, I make my way across the patio and drop down next to her. “Want to go for a swim?”

“I was thinking about it. But I need to go get my swimsuit on.” Her toes splash through the water that’s heated to the perfect temperature.

“We can go train for a little while first.”

“Okay,” she says, bringing her knee up and propping her chin on it, her eyes still on the water.

“Kinsley,” I say as she finally looks to me. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m not talking about right now. I’m talking about after graduation. I know Danielle had dangled a fresh start on the West Coast under your nose.”