Page 42 of Ballads of Lines Blurred

Slater ducked out of the room into the kitchen while Milo and I took a seat on the couch. He made sure I was in the middle.

A minute later, Slater returned with drinks and took a seat next to me. I didn’t miss how his hand shook when he lifted a glass of water to his lips.

I reached for his hand after he put the glass on the coffee table, needing to touch him, to soothe him. “I’m sorry if I’m making you anxious.”

“I’ve been having a panic attack all morning. The moment my eyes opened; it was there. Last night was?—”

I cut him off. “Can I go first? There are things I’d like to tell you both.”

He nodded.

Dropping my head to the back of the couch, I closed my eyes and poured my soul out. Might as well jump right in. “You both know I lost my parents. But I’d like to tell you what happened from my point of view.”

“Cody, you don’t have to,” Milo offered.

“I want to. I want us to be together, all three of us, and if that’s going to happen, we shouldn’t have secrets.”

“Okay, but if you need to stop, do so.”

“Thank you. I was asleep when I heard the noise. It wasn’t much at first, low murmurs that became louder until there was shouting. I got out of bed and found my parents in their bedroom with my uncle standing there, a gun pointed at them. He was yelling about money and how he needed them to hand over what they had. My dad’s eyes latched on to mine, but before he could say anything, my uncle shot him. Then my mother. I screamed, causing my uncle to turn. He put the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger before I could rush forward. I…”

Tears built in my eyes as words caught in my throat. I didn’t like to revisit the past, not this. But I wanted them to know me, to know everything. Slater squeezed my hand while Milo took my other one and held it. They gave me the courage to continue.

“My uncle was gone. My dad wasn’t moving. But my mom… she was still alive. I… I won’t go into detail. I just can’t.” Lifting my head, I released Slater’s hand to wipe at my eyes. “The cops came, ambulances, my mom was rushed to the ER while Livy and I watched. The shots had woken her. I couldn’t even hold my sister. I was covered in blood from crawling across the floor to get to my mom. There was so much of it. The cops kept trying to talk to me, but I broke away and ran to the hospital. It wasn’t far from where we lived, just a few blocks. The ER doors opened, and I rushed in but was quickly stopped by security, asking if I was okay. I begged to see my mom. I had to know how she was. My knees gave out, and I ended up sobbing on the floor while I screamed, my fists beating against it. Someone tried to restrain me, but I fought against them. Then Corbin was there. He got them to let me go. He held me while I fell apart.

“He tried to save her but couldn’t. People in the ER saw it all and told the media. They took the worst day of my life and told the fucking world about it. My parents were dead. My uncle, who was a fucking addict, had killed them. And I witnessed it. The only good part was that Livy didn’t see it happen. Although, the aftermath was just as bad.”

Arms wrapped around me from both sides. Milo and Slater surrounded me as I cried, tears running down my face. I had to get the rest out.

“My aunt showed up after that, my mom’s sister. We hadn’t seen her in ten years. She played the part of an upset sister and told the cops how she’d be there for us. That she had a copy of my mom’s will and would take us. I didn’t know my mom had a will. My aunt tried to paint herself in a positive light, but I didn’t like her. I felt abandoned by my so-called family. Then she was there the day they died? We had no other relatives. No grandparents on my mom’s side. My dad’s brother was all he had left, and he was the one who caused everything.

“Pia, my aunt, thought she would get money for taking us. She was wrong. I refused to go with her and didn’t want Livy to either. But I was eighteen, and Livy was a minor. Livy left with my aunt.” I shook my head, hating the events that unfolded. “My sister was gone to New Jersey with my aunt. I had to have a company clean the room my parents were murdered in, and I barely had any money since I only worked part time and had to finish high school. The house we were in was rented. There was no life insurance. Then it all came to a head. I was at the hospital visiting Corbin when I also got to meet Val and Xaiden. Pia came through the doors, held my sister hostage in the ER waiting room with a gun in her hand while she demanded money. She wanted to sell my fucking sister to them. The other fucked-up part, my aunt was Corbin’s ex-wife. God, what a mess it was. I couldn’t let her hurt Livy, so I took off at a run to take my aunt down. Her gun went off, shooting Corbin in the leg. Luckily, we were in the hospital, so while the security guard took care of Pia, they rushed Corbin into the operating room. That was when it was discussed about Livy leaving me again. I couldn’t let it happen; however, I didn’t have the money to care for her and give her what she needed.”

“Xaiden, Val, and Corbin stepped up,” Milo said, pulling me back to the present and into the room with them.

“Xaiden could foster Livy. So, he did, and we went to live with them. Therapy, arguments, so many nightmares. I’d said some horrible things to Corbin early on, which I had apologized for before we lived with them. Livy and I are okay now. I’d like to think our parents are watching over us, seeing how good we’re doing, grateful for Xaiden, Val, and Corbin.”

My tears finally slowed, and I could suck more air in. Reliving it broke my heart all over again, but it was out there now for Slater and Milo to digest, for them to know me. My past, brutal as it was. I wouldn’t wish losing a parent like that on anyone. To witness it, to know it was the end and there was nothing I could do to stop it. At first, I wondered if I could have, but I knew I couldn’t. It happened. All I could do was move on and hope I made my parents proud.

19

MILO

Cody sat shaking in our arms, the past slowly fading as he breathed deeper and oriented himself with the present again. Nothing I could have said would have been adequate to convey the sheer sorrow and anger I felt at what he and his sister went through. Not only losing their parents, but what happened after, as they should have been healing.

“I’m so sorry,” Slater whispered. “I remember hearing about it on the news and knew Xaiden had taken you and your sister in, but to hear it from your side, god, I want to wrap you up and never let go.”

Cody gave a watery chuckle. “I wouldn’t object.”

I pressed a kiss to Cody’s cheek. “Is there anything we can do?”

“This is good.”

We sat for a bit in silence, simply holding each other until Cody stopped shaking and relaxed in our embrace. Him telling his story made me want to share mine too. When he told me to meet him here, I didn’t think it would lead to this, although he was right. If we were going to be in a relationship, which I wasn’t sure what we were, we had to talk. Since I was already in deeper than I wanted to admit, it was time for me to share.

“My turn,” I said, dropping my head onto Cody’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to,” he told me.

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