Page 34 of Touch Her and Die
“Halle, are you okay?”I asked. She hadn’t moved for quite some time. I looked at my cousin who was waving at me from the porch, but still far enough away from Halle no fists would be flying. Knives? Well, I was trusting the love of my life.
Fuck. My cousin looked so happy to see me. See anyone for that matter. She was another casualty in this family. The difference was, I liked her and hated what they’d done to her. Being a girl might have allowed her to be human at least.
“Parks, I missed you, let’s go make dinner and get her settled in.” My cousin bounded around like a golden retriever, and I was caught between what to do next. I couldn’t even laugh at the stupid chicken running around the corner just to run smack into a flower barrel because I was too fucking distracted by everything. I flinched for the bird’s sake, but she seemed fine. Gertie better be fine, because I couldn’t handle my cousin being hysterical right now.
I glanced at Halle again and gave Emilee a quick smile before focusing on my attention back on the woman who was destroying me. She wasn’t speaking again. I couldn’t even figure out if she was breathing.
“What did I do this time? I swear I won’t drug you ever again. And I won’t have to as long as you stay right here.”
She turned away from the door and paced, finally stopping in front of the car. There was something going on with her. I’d been fucking pissed about everything. The fact I’d done something like consider marrying her and she thought it was some joke, didn’t sit well with my damn ego. She liked to do that. Punch at my ego and destroy my well-cultivated confidence.
But here we were. Silent, and in front of my cousin. I was bringing her home to the only family I truly had left, except Nate.
“Look. I’ve put my damn heart out there. This is the last person who means anything to me. You’ve met them both. Nate, and now Emilee.”
I watched her breathe. It was the only sign of life. She hadn’t even blinked.
“Halle?”
Her hands didn’t seem to know what to do. She clenched her fists and then, the next second, she was digging her nails into her forearms. I was glad she had sleeves on this time. I waited a few more seconds and still she was silent.
“Emilee? Will you take Richard inside? I’m going to talk to Halle. We will be right in to settle him into his new home.”
She winked at me and took the carrier. She knew plenty of the drama that Halle had brought. All the toxic energy she’d released into my life, and all the freedom. It was freeing to be with her. Be accepted. But somehow, I’d fucked it up.
“Gertie? Let’s go share our snacks with this big guy,” said Emilee.
The silly chicken waddled away after her. I tried to focus on Halle. How could I get her into the not so prison like state?
“Halle? Princess. What is going on? Look, I get it. Shit isn’t the way it should be. But I need you safe. I can’t keep running off to find you. You make me fucking crazy in every way possible.”
This time I heard her sniffle.
“Are you crying?”
She sniffed again and whispered a little, “No.”
This couldn’t be good. I reached for her, and her shoulder shifted under my touch. Back to being confused. I couldn’t decide if she was trying to push me away or what. I didn’t care. Pulling her around, I made her face me and sure enough, red-rimmed eyes stared back.
“Fuck, princess. What’s going on?”
She sniffled again, and this time I felt the shrug.
“Everything.”
This wasn’t a time to roll my eyes or shrug off emotions. Even if I was still wounded that she wasn’t into marriage. Fine.
“Look. We can just go on being us. I swear nothing’s changed. I mean, yeah, I gotta go figure out this whole merger thing.”
She stopped me with a finger over my lips.
“Marriage, Parks. That whole marriage thing.”
I nodded.
“It’s not about that. Or maybe it all is,” she said. “My sister and I always said we’d run away. Run far, far away from my uncle. Mom and Dad? Well, they died or were murdered, always hard to say when they were addicts and no one really cared.”
She swallowed, and I didn’t dare break this. For all the resources and all the money in the world I couldn’t buy the truth, not like this.
