Page 62 of Good and Gone

“What’s your name?” I ask her.

She stares at me and says nothing.

Hailey speaks up. “I'm Hailey.”

The girl nods. "I remember you. But I'm guessing you don't remember too much about me."

"I'm sorry, I don't."

"They call me Kitty," the girl says. "But it's not my real name."

45

Hailey

Ididn’t think anything could get me into a house like that ever again. Turns out the sound of a gun firing and my whole life being inside would be all it took.

Here was the man that had rocked our babies, the man who was in more of my memories than not. It didn't even look like Tyler standing there. What did I think he would look like? I didn't know, but I didn't think it would be like this.

Then we found those other girls, and I don't know how to describe the horrors in that house. Tyler pulled out his phone. "What are you doing?"

"Calling the police. Calling Daniel."

"Why not Detective Coburn?" I ask, because Daniel's just a junior detective. Barry's his boss and he’s going to get called in, eventually.

"Because I hate that guy," Tyler says matter-of-factly. "Oh, and Hailey?"

"Yeah?"

"Call my dad and tell him to call an attorney. A good one. We're going to need it."

46

Tyler

Ican't believe I'm in this position. A few months ago, I thought the worst that could happen to me was to spend the rest of my good years working in that pharmacy. I guess you should be careful what you wish for because now I'm facing the end of my career. Now, I'm facing the end of everything.

I hear the sirens wail in the distance and I look at the dead guy on the floor and I look at my wife and I tell myself it was worth it.

I have to believe that.

If I don't believe that, I'm going to be joining him. The image of my Hailey in a room like this, what I walked in to, rips at my insides. I try to hold on to my sanity, but I feel like I'm losing it. Then I feel her hand on my shoulder.

"Tyler, remember what we talked about?"

I nod, but I don't know what to tell her. I don't know if I can remember anything right now. My mind is racing in a thousand different directions.

"We have to keep our story straight," she says. "We have to tell them what happened. They have to know that it was self-defense."

I smile at her.

"You're right," I say. She's so naive, and how can you suddenly hate something about a person that you've always loved?

"Come here," he says.

She wraps her arms around me and pulls me in for a hug. I want to be able to feel her warmth, to remember the feeling of being loved, to remember that this all started because I love her so much.

The sirens are getting closer, and I feel like I'm about to lose it and byit,I mean everything. I close my eyes and try to remember when we were happy. I try to remember that no matter what happens, nothing lasts forever, that she made me a better person, that I have to be there for her, that I can't let her down.

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