Page 94 of Whirlwind
“He didn’t. We’re not close,” I say, not asking why my grandmother didn’t tell me. It’s not surprising, since we didn’t tell each other a lot of things. Mostly, we kept every conversation to good news only.
“Of course,” she says, as if she knew and forgot. “So, I have some paperwork you’ll need to sign. Essentially, she quitclaimed the house to you. There wasn’t much money left over, as she used everything she had to ensure there wouldn’t be expenses left unpaid for you to take care of from inheriting her estate. She did add your name to her bank account, though—that information is in here.” She hands me a manila envelope.
“Thank you, I appreciate you coming here to do this.” I sign each page where little red flags are placed.
“Sure. Anna was a friend. She loved you, Kit. It wasn’t easy for her to show, but she did.”
“I know, I loved her, too.”
“She knew that,” she says, rubbing her hand down my arm. “There’s a letter from her in there, as well.”
“Oh. Okay.” I peek in the envelope to find a smaller one inside, my name written on it.
“That’s it for paperwork. My card is in there—if you need anything from me, you just let me know.”
“Thank you, Susan,” I say, and walk her back to the door. Opening the envelope back up, I take out the letter, and within minutes, everything I knew about my life changes.
25
Tyson
The scene I walk into at Kit’s grandmother’s house is not the one I was expecting. She’s ghostly white and struggling to gain control of herself, in a full-on panic attack, a crumpled piece of paper in her hand.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” I move to sit on the floor in front of her. Willa is next to her, an arm wrapped around her friend. She looks horrified, and I just know, whatever has happened is worse than I can imagine. “Kit, breathe with me.”
Cupping her face, I softly blow out air, hoping that she’ll exhale with me. I rub my thumbs along her temples and keep whispering to her. It’s long minutes, but she starts to regulate. A few moments later, she pushes the paper into my chest.
“She’s dead,” she gasps.
“Your grandmother? Yeah, sweetheart, I know.”
“Read it,” she says, shaking her head wildly until I take the paper and look at it.
Kitpu,
There is a long list of things I should have told you. It’s almost as long asthe list of reasons I never did. Let me start with some of the easy ones.
I love you. You’ve been the greatest joy in my life, the brightest light. I regret that I didn’t tell you that every day. And that I was terrible at showing it. My weak excuse is that I didn’t know how.
I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. It was my job. The most important job I ever had, and I failed. You should have been protected, you deserved that. I’m so proud of you for protecting yourself, for leaving this place, and never looking back. You were always stronger than anyone gave you credit for.
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth in life, instead I took the easy way out and wrote you this letter. Hopefully, you won’t hate me for it, but I’d understand if you do.
Promise you’ll never feel any guilt for how you feel about me or the complicated relationship we’ve had, Kit. You’ve learned to put your own happiness and peace first, and I could never ask for anything more than that. You are a woman of value, of worth, who is deserving of every good thing you want out of life. And you are those things because of the choices you made. You are you because of you, not because of him. Do you understand?
I hope so.
Now comes the hard part. The secret I’ve kept from you because your father said I had to. He threatened to take you away if I ever told you, and I stupidly believed him. I also didn’t want to be the broker of more pain for you, which I can admit was selfish of me.
With this letter, you’ll find the name and phone number of a detective in Billings,Montana. Jack Silva is retired now, but he’ll answer any questions you have.
Nimii didn’t leave you, my sweet girl. Not intentionally.
She went to Montana for the funeral of a childhood friend. While there, she planned to find work and a place to live. A place for you both to escape your father who had shown his true colors by then.
She went missing, later found murdered.
I’m so sorry you never got to meet her or learn what a sweet woman she was. She loved you more than anything in this world.
