Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
My throat thickened with emotion. Rory let out a deflated sigh.
“The good news is Rory won’t have to face the foster care system again,” Kennedy went on, smiling warmly at the teen next to her. “Since Damian was threatened and provided us a full confession, his lawyer worked out a deal with the DA and she pulled some strings. He’ll do two years of community service and will be on house arrest for eight months, but at least he’ll be home.”
“Thank God,” Rory said, wiping fake sweat from her forehead.
“Oh, now you want to thank God?” I teased.
“Uh, yeah! He saved my life and yours!” She looked at the ceiling and said, “So sorry for blaspheming you, my heavenly Father. I’ll never do it again.”
I smirked. “Well, I’m glad you’ll still have one of your brothers, at least.”
“Yeah, me too.” Her smile slipped a bit. “We’re thinking about traveling after his two years are up. Getting out of Sage Hill. I’ll be ready to graduate by then and we can make plans now. I think it’s time we branch out.”
“That would be nice. You should definitely do it.”
“Right. Well, I really swung by because I’ve been informed that they’ll need Eve’s body for just a few more days,” Kennedy told me. “Just to be thorough with evidence. Once we have everything we need, we’ll have her body delivered so you can give her a proper burial.”
“Okay. Thanks, Kennedy. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
Kennedy’s eyes sparkled. “It was my pleasure, Rose.”
I forced myself to look away as my tears threatened to take over. As if Kennedy noticed, she reached for Rory’s Tupperware and removed the lid. Her nails were pink and red this time.
“Let me try one of these brownies and see what all the fuss is about.” She plucked one out and bit into it. As she chewed, her eyes expanded, and she shifted her gaze to Rory. “Girl! What? These are good!”
“Yeah? I’m thinking about selling them,” Rory said, bouncing in her seat as Kennedy devoured the rest of her brownie, then grabbed another.
“You sell these and you’ll make enough money to travel and live wherever you want,” said Kennedy, her mouth half full. “My goodness, they’re so gooey and chocolatey. A glass of milk would hit the spot.”
“They are really good,” I said, taking a brownie for myself.
Rory grinned and grabbed one too. “To a peaceful future,” she declared, holding her brownie in the air.
We tapped brownies.
“To a peaceful future.”
That I could promise myself.
EPILOGUE
I hadn’t read all of Eve’s journal entries the day I found them, only the most recent ones about Victor and her trip to Twilight Oaks. After some time, I was able to read a few more and my heart ached for her. There was an entry that nearly broke me down and one I would probably never forgive myself for.
That night when I caught Cole and Eve, I hadn’t realized that she’d been triggered. I mean, she’d still gone through with it, but something Cole did had put her in a frozen state. I’d been around Eve long enough to know that when she froze, she didn’t care what happened to her. She just went with the flow, let things carry out, gave an empty stare like she wanted to be as far away from her body as possible. She often waited for the worst to pass, then smiled the next day like nothing happened.
That fear I saw in Eve’s eyes that night wasn’t only because she’d been caught red-handed. It was because she’d lost control of her own mind. I couldn’t fully blame her for what happened. I left that night. Blocked Eve’s number. Blocked Cole’s too, before I had to unblock his to settle a minor dispute with the divorce.
It pains me because I never gave Eve the chance to defend herself. I just flat out ignored her. Neglected her. Wrote her off. She tried coming to my job. To my dad’s. She tried calling me from Zoey’s phone a few times but when I heard her voice I instantly hung up.
I may not have wanted to forgive her in that moment, but I would have eventually. That didn’t mean she’d be my best friend again or that we would be close. No, that never would’ve happened. But at least I’d have had the peace of mind to understand and let go of my bitterness.
I sat with that guilt as I stood in front of her grave, staring down at her tombstone. It’d taken a full month to get her body. Her funeral was a week ago. Now she’d been put to rest six feet under. This was surreal in the worst way. The friend who’d felt like a sister to me, now dead. Her life cut short at thirty-two years old. When you think about it, that isn’t very many years. She still had a chance to grow, to better herself, to take control of her life.