Page 5 of Lies in Promises
“Sergeant Nolan, what can I do for you?” Henry asks, his voice tight.
Before the words even leave his mouth, I know what they are.
There is so much emotion rolling through me right now, I feel like I’m going to crumble. But I keep it together—I don’t have confirmation yet. I don’t know if what I’m thinking is right.
But as the sergeant opens his mouth to speak, I know. My body, head, and heart know, and even without the words, tears start to roll down my face.
“I’m here regarding Thomas and Catharine.”
“What about them? They aren’t home at the moment.” The way Henry’s body locks up, I know he knows too, but he is waiting for the police sergeant to say the words.
Sergeant Nolan looks at Henry and then at where Bennett and I stand.
“I’m sorry,” Sergeant Nolan says. “There was a car accident. Thomas and Catharine didn’t make it.”
I don’t remember much of what happened after that. What I do remember is pain, excruciating pain, only to be replaced with numbness. It was a cycle, one I’m still in a week later.
Only today, it feels intensified.
Of course it would—today is the funeral, after all.
A tear lands on the tie in my hand. I will make them stop, but tear after tear keeps flowing. Today is the last day I will ever see my parents. In a few hours, they are going to be buried deep in the ground.
At the very least, my tears will be concealed by the rain. Nobody will be wiser.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
My parents are no longer here.
I won’t get another lecture from my dad about the friends I keep or coming home late.
I won’t have my mom to teach me about art or help me with my tie.
They’re gone forever, and I won’t ever get them back.
I need my parents.
I need my dad to yell at me.
I need my mom to come into my room to help me with the tie in my hand. I fucking need them so damn much.
And I’m not the only one. Bennett only had them for eight years. He is going to go the rest of his life without his parents. I can’t be to him what my parents were. I will never be able to step into my parents’ shoes and raise my brother the way they would have.
I have no idea what it takes to be a father figure. I can barely handle being a big brother. Those shoes can’t be filled by me.
That kid is going to need someone with their shit together, not someone who feels like they are going to break into a million tiny pieces at any given moment.
Suddenly, I’m full-on sobbing on the floor until a hand lands on my shoulder. I so badly want it to be my father, but I know it isn’t him.
Looking up, I see Henry hovering over me with unshed tears in his eyes.
At least it’s Henry and not my brother.
“Are you okay, sir?” he asks, his voice full of emotion.
Sir.
No matter how many times my dad told Henry to call him by his first name, Henry never dropped it. He has stated that theetiquette he learned at a young age was so ingrained in his being that there is no possibility he ever will.
