Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
I stared at my brother, knowing I had only told him the first part of my story.
“You loved him,” Carter said, more a statement than a question.
“I do. Very much. So much it made my chest ache. But caring for a man like Knox felt like loving a deadly weapon.”
He exhaled through his nose. “So, you ran.”
I nodded but didn’t respond.
“I don’t fault you.”
“I couldn’t breathe here anymore,” I whispered.
Carter looked at me for a long time, gaze soft and loving. “And now you’re back.”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“And why did you come back?”
“Because I was tired of running. I felt just as lost and empty all these years later as I did when I first ran. More, actually. Because I was alone.” I thought about the life I’d made on my own. It had been pointless and empty. I worked and went home, repeating the process day in and day out. I had friends, but they weren’t genuine. “I lost myself out there, trying to pretend I didn’t miss home. Didn’t miss you. And even if this place still scares the hell out of me sometimes… I missed it. I missed me.”
His eyes searched mine. “And so you came home.” He didn’t wait for me to respond. “But that’s not the real reason, is it?”
I hesitated. “No.”
“Tell me, little sister.” Carter’s voice was soft, gentle even.
I took a deep breath and just said what needed to be said. “I didn’t come back only because I missed you and Knox,” I said, keeping my eyes on the worn wood of the table just up ahead of me. “I came back, because I had no choice. For years, I stayed away, thinking it was for the best. But deep down, I knew I was wrong. But running didn’t stop the evils and dangers of the world from finding me.”
I looked at my brother then. He was silent and still and just listened to what I had to say.
“Trouble had a way of finding me, no matter how far away I went.” I twisted my hands in my lap. “This man… he started showing up wherever I worked and wherever I lived, even after I would move on to somewhere else and keep my shit private. Notes on my windshield, calls from blocked numbers.” The air in the room changed instantly, growing frigid as my brother listened. “At first, I thought I was being paranoid, but I knew the truth. I knew he followed me, and at my last place, I realized he went even further than that. He’d been coming into my apartment and watching me sleep.”
This low growl left Carter, and I placed a hand on his, willing him to just listen.
“I didn’t plan what happened next.” My throat closed as I remembered that night. “I just reacted when I caught him following me home after work one night. But I was prepared. Had pepper spray and a knife.”
“Jesus Christ, Kelsie.” The genuine concern in Carter’s voice was nearly tangible.
“There was a struggle… and he didn’t make it out of it. I left him in the alley behind a dumpster.”
“Holy fucking shit. You sure he’s dead?”
I closed my eyes and nodded. “Yeah. I stood over him, watching as he bled out and took his last breath.” I knew in that part of the city, in that section of town, there were no cameras, no witnesses to put me there. “I’m no different from Knox, from you… hell, from any other killer.”
“Kelsie—”
“No, Carter,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m not, and you know what?” I stared into my brother’s eyes, ones just like mine. “I’m fine with it. I accept it. This is who and what I am, and it’s what saved my life that night. And last night.” I breathed out, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.
“You gotta tell Knox this.”
“I know. I will,” I whispered. “So, yeah… I not only came back for Knox and what I feel for him, but also because I was too damn empty out there alone. It was all too much, Carter. I needed to come home.” I shrugged. “I don’t know if I came back to find closure with him… or myself. Or to just accept that I am meant to be here. Either way, it’s that last one that ended up happening.”
Carter stood and helped me to stand. Then he pulled me into a hug. Before my arrival, it had been years since I felt my brother’s strong arms wrapped around me and keeping me safe. Now, I never wanted to go a day without them ever again.
“I should’ve protected you better,” he said into my hair.
“I needed to learn to protect myself in this world, brother.”
We stood there in the middle of the clubhouse like we were kids again, knowing that at the end of the day, the only ones we could count on were ourselves.