Page 108 of The Moment Promised

Finn sits on my porch, out of ear shot to give us some privacy.

“What?” I demand, flabbergasted he even could suggest Jason being a free man after the day I hardly survived.

“I know it’s frustrating, but even with the proof he tried to hire a hitman, he never actually worded anything that would insinuate he wanted to kill someone. It wouldn’t be enough to hold up in a court of law.”

I have dried blood all over me, isn’t that enough in itself to have him locked away for the rest of his life? I still have the folder on my laptop with the photos of my mom’s ribs and Finn’s bruised face…even the blurry video. But it’s not enough, and all of this was for nothing. My stomach sinks and I feel like I’ve died.

I can take a photo of myself now, and add it to the collection, hoping one day it will be enough.

“I’m sorry I can’t give you ladies better peace of mind. The justice system is flawed.” He gives a sorrowful shrug, one that say’sdon’t shoot the messenger.

“Thank you, Officer, for all your help.” My mother still has the strength to smile at the man who just delivered us a world full of future battles.

He nods his head with a tight lip and walks away.

Paramedics assessed me and offered to take me to the hospital. After the day I’ve had, I just want to scrub it all off in the shower and curl up in bed with Finn, who left a few minutes ago to pick up dinner for us. Besides, once they cleaned up the dried blood, they found it was only a minor cut. It bled a lot because of how thin the skin on my head is.

It’s finally quiet, all the nosey neighbors and first responders left. I haven’t been able to go back inside. My mom sits on the grass with me, even as the sun sets, until I’m ready to go through those doors.

Finn’s only been gone for fifteen minutes, but with everything going on we hadn’t really had the chance to talk. I feel a pull to speak to him now that I finally can. “Can I use your phone?” I ask my mom since I must’ve dropped mine somewhere along my run when I passed out.

“Why, what’s wrong?” she asks, handing me her phone.

I don’t know if it’s my mother asking me what’s wrong or if losing my phone was the last straw, but the floodgates open. Everything that happened hits in one sweep of a massive tsunami. The world shrinks around me, strangling me. I’m gasping for air when I hear a familiar string of notes coming from my abdomen.

Specifically, the area where my leggings meet my stomach, where a rectangle vibrates against me. I slowly pull out my phone and set it in the grass, not even bothering to check who’s calling me. I had my phone the entire time. It registers numbly that a call for help was perfectly within my capabilities.

Jason didn’t even check me for my phone, I want to laugh with how ridiculous it all is. So, I do, I laugh hysterically. It’s the sort of laugh that knocks the wind out of you and has you gripping at your knees, only this one doesn’t end with a deep inhale, it turns into a full-blown break down. I collapse onto the grass and let my mother soothe me.

She holds me in her arms, I’m a flimsy feather incased in diamond armor.

“What can I do for you? Did you want to call Finn?” my mom asks, reaching for my phone that lays face down in the grass.

I just shrug, not in the right mind to make decisions right now.

She picks it up and looks at it.

I glance at my phone in her hands, there is a timer at the top of the screen, five hours and thirty-one minutes and counting. The screen displays the scene right in front of us.

“Oh my—" Life is breathed back into me, just as easily as it was lost.

“I’m confused, why are you taking a video?” my mom asks.

I stand up, with so much strength, I could withstand the entire world’s weightand more.

“I’m not. I hit record by accident right as I passed out.” I grab the phone from my mom’s hands, she still kneels on the grass from when I needed her support. Little does she know I have the final puzzle piece that’s going to ensure our safety for therestof our lives.

I can see as it all clicks behind my mother’s eyes, because she slowly stands up and walks toward me and my phone as if it’s the most fragile thing in this entire world. Like, if she walks too fast the wind will knock it right out of my hands and shatter it to pieces.

“Upload it to the cloud so we can share it with the lawyer,” she says quickly, like the evidence is seconds away fromdisappearing. “Please tell me he said enough to incriminate himself on the video.”

I nod and quickly do as I’m told, connecting to the Wi-Fi so it goes through.

“Oh my god!” my mom shrieks, grasping my hand. She squeezes so hard that her knuckles are completely white, but I don’t care.

This is how we are going to reach the finish line.

This is the part where we win.

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