Page 83 of In The Dark
“I’ll take you on another ride again soon.”
I squeeze her thigh and pull into the entrance to our destination. Shifting the speed, I slow my bike to a crawl, passing rows of graves until I find one near the back and kill the ignition. I throw the kickstand down and jump off, holding out a hand for Max. When her feet are firmly planted on the ground, I unbuckle her helmet and slide it over her head.
“You’re going to have to explain why we’re in a cemetery,” she says. “This feels like the start of a horror movie.”
“In broad daylight? Really?” I reach behind her, grabbing the flowers from the storage pack attached to the back of the bike. “We’re visiting my mom.”
“What?” Max whispers, tugging on my arm. “Your mom is?—”
“She died when I was twenty-four. At the hands of my abusive, drunk father.”
“Oh, Hunter.” She stands on her toes and kisses my cheek. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’ve made peace with it now, but I try and get out here once a month to see her. Haven’t had the chance lately with Fright Nights being so busy, so I wanted to make the trip.”
“Will you tell me about her?”
I smile and take off my helmet, resting it on the back seat of the bike. I reach for Max’s hand and slides our fingers together, the perfect fit. “She was my best friend. We did everything together. She was the one who taught me how to ride. Bought me my first motorcycle.” I laugh thinking about the present in the driveway on Christmas Day with the big red bow on it. The drives we’d take out to the beach for the afternoon, sitting in the sand and watching the ocean waves. “She had this vivacious energy about her. Never backed down from a fight. Always found the good in people. It’s why she kept letting my dad back in. She believed him when he said he changed.”
The first time she kicked him out, I was eleven. He hit her during an argument about money, and when I intervened, he threw me against the wall. That sent him packing with a ticket to rehab and signed divorce papers. Six months later, after he said he was clean, he was living with us again.
For a while, it was fine. There were birthdays and Christmases we all celebrated together, the picture of a perfect family.
But the thing about abusers is you can’t fix them. They can’t stay perfect forever, and, eventually, they break. They crave the high hurting someone smaller than them brings, and I saw the bruises on my mom’s arm. I heard them fighting from my bedroom, the yelling I tried to block out with headphones but never could.
The back and forth went on for years. He’d leave, then reappear. Mom reassured me thatthis timewould be different. It never was. It’s why I stuck around the house for so long, putting up with the jokes from my friends at work who told me I was too old to be living at home.
I did everything I could to protect her, but in the end, I couldn’t.
Not when he set the fucking house on fire with her inside.
He was the first person I murdered.
A baseball bat to the skull in the middle of the night, and I made sure he knew it was me who did it.
There are times I wish I hadn’t killed him so I could keep him alive years later, torturing him like he tortured my mom until her last breath.
“That must have been hard for you,” Max says, and I blink. I let out a rage-filled breath, relaxing when she rests her head on my arm. “To see that unfolding and not be able to do anything about it.”
“It was the hardest part of my life. I’d do anything to bring her back.” I pause, leading her over to her headstone. “It’s why I started doing what I do.”
“Killing?” she whispers, like someone is listening to us, and I chuckle.
“Yeah, angel. Killing. My father paid for what he did, but so many pieces of shit get away with things they shouldn’t. After seeing what Mom endured, I vowed to protect all the women out there who haven’t found justice. They shouldn’t have to live in fear while these fuckers live freely.”
“I didn’t understand it at first, but I really get it now. You don’t kill because you’re dark and evil. You kill to get rid of the dark and the evil. To bring good to the world. You’re the light people need, Hunter.”
“I’d never harm someone who was innocent. And I recognize we all make mistakes. Some people just make too many mistakes, and you can only forgive so many times.”
“Do you mind if…” Max trails off, gesturing between the flowers and my mom’s grave.
“Please.” I hand her the flowers and give her elbow a gentle tap. “Thank you.”
She steps forward and brushes the leaves off the tombstone before kneeling in the grass. Max gets rid of the twine holding the stems together and tucks it in her pocket. Propping the flowers up, she traces each letter in Mom’s name before sitting back on her heels.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Katherine. I’m Maxine. Max for short. I’ve been spending time with Hunter, and I want you to know you have a wonderful son.”
My heart skips a beat when she says that, and I know there’s no doubt in my mind I’m going to marry this woman. There will be a ring on her finger sooner rather than later, and I can’t wait to give her my last name.
