Page 63 of Kept in the Dark

Where was Trey? Why hadn’t he saved her? He promised to always save her.

But that promise had been broken, just like his vow to love her forever.

Again, she ordered her legs to walk forward, toward whatever violence occurred on such a warm summer’s night. Every step was heavy, as if her body was trying to protect her from the monsters that lurked in the shadows. Tears flowed down her cheeks, attempting to wash away the dirt and horror that stained her face.

Her eyes darted to the fountain where her father and Uncle Eli stood, both in deep discussion. Her body swayed and she attempted to steady herself. The sound of crime scene techs and police officers all seemed to fade into one another.

Eli noticed her first and immediately jogged over to her, David following much more slowly.

Eli cupped her face. “Oh my god! Hailey, what happened?” He yelled to the other officers, “I need a medic!”

An officer came over to her, carrying a first aid kit. “I’m Officer Young but you can call me Bobby. Can you tell me what happened to you?”

Her head swam and she couldn’t make sense of his words. Her body swayed once more and she reached out, putting her hand against his chest.

Where was Trey? She needed to see Trey.

When she didn’t answer Bobby, David said, “Your mother died. Sara killed her.”

Hailey's eyes flickered to the grand French doors of her home just as the coroner carried out a black body bag on a stretcher.

She heard what her father said, but her brain lagged, a fog threatening her consciousness.

Sara had killed their mother? No, her mother was inside sleeping, and Sara was partying.

Hailey could hear Bobby talking to her father and Eli. She could feel his cold hands as he gently assessed her injuries, but it was as if she was frozen, her mind muddled.

“She needs a doctor, Chief. These lacerations are deep and there’s so much blood, I can’t tell what’s a flesh wound and what needs stitches.”

“Call one. I’m not taking her to the hospital,” David’s voice boomed.

“Shit,” Bobby said, “she’s got a stick lodged into her back. She needs medical attention. Now.”

God, she felt so tired. All she wanted to do was lay on the ground and sleep.

Their voices faded as she walked to the middle of her yard, a few feet from the fountain that her mother hated so much. Then she laid in the grass and screamed, her shrieks of grief and sorrow sending everyone running in a direction other than her own, even Eli. And especially her father.

But not Bobby. He sat next to her as she screamed and cried out. He took out antiseptic wipes and gently- and silently- cleaned the blood off her wounds. She winced as the sting of the medication bit her skin and he paused until she was calm again.

She found that his kindness was a safe place. He didn’t even know what had happened to her just hours before, how much she desperately needed to feel safe and protected. And he gave that to her. A stranger made her feel more loved and cared for than her own father ever did. David Gallagher simply ignored his daughter's outrage and grief and continued to watch the police work, allowing a perfect stranger to console and care for his daughter.

Bobby thought she had been screaming only for the loss of her mother, but she had been mourning so much more. She sobbed again and he held her hand until she finally passed out in the grass, her voice hoarse from grief and her body broken and bloody, just like her soul.

June 28, 2011

3:11 pm

The family with the twin girls were no longer at the park and another mother rushed her kids to the car as the storm winds picked up.

Trey touched Hailey’s hand, and she jumped but didn’t pull away. She hadn’t even noticed he had inched closer to her. His presence reminded her she wasn’t eighteen anymore and she wasn’t hidden in the orange groves. She was safe and had survived.

The morning after the attack, Hailey had woken to a splitting headache, a broken rib, a dead mother, and a guilty sister. Not to mention the bruises, stitches, and blood that had still caked the crevices of her body, despite nearly scrubbing her skin raw.

She had left town a month later.

A single tear tried to escape but she blinked it away as she turned her head. She hated that she still cried about it, that it still haunted her so deeply.

“I’m so sorry,” Trey said.

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