Page 16 of Royal
The last thing I’d said to him all those years ago was that I hated him. That’d been the furthest thing from the truth. Through the heartache, I’d loved him. But I hadn’t been able to forgive him.
And Grayson had never asked for forgiveness.
After they left, I closed and locked the door behind them, finally releasing the panicked breaths I’d been holding inside.
I’d seen too many crime shows where an innocent person was convicted of murder, whether because of a false confession or circumstantial/planted evidence. If they didn’t find another lead, they’d continue looking deeper into me. Not all cops were crooked, but I’d heard stories about some departments. How they’d set their eyes on one suspect and do everything they could to plant evidence because they had nothing real and felt the guy was guilty. They felt justified for doing it. Meanwhile, the real killer was free.
Grayson wouldn’t frame me, though.
He might be an asshole, but he was an honest one, for the most part.
As my nerves began to settle, another thought spiked them back up again. The person who killed Beth was still out there.
Had it been a random killing, or had they specifically targeted her? If it was the latter, did they have other targets in mind?
As an anchor, I received a ton of hate mail. Beth had, too. She’d been criticized for her appearance on numerous occasions: too much makeup, not enough makeup, too slutty of clothing, and someone had even complained that her hair was too long.
People wrote into the station to say I was too stiff sometimes and I didn’t need to smile so much. Some said I needed to smile more. A man confronted me in the grocery store before to tell me his wife found me attractive, and if I ever tried anything with her, he’d kill me.
Fun times.
Maybe the person who’d killed her was someone who watched our segment. The thought sent chills down my spine. Enough so that I checked to make sure all the windows and doors in the house were locked.
***
“How are you, sweetie?” Mom asked, holding my hands in hers. Her brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and she looked tired. Probably all the stress over me.
“I’m fine,” I half-lied. I was physically okay, but my mental state could’ve done with some improvement.
Two days had passed, and news about Beth’s death had spread through Addersfield. People were calling it the worst murder in the history of the town. Details about the scene had been leaked, and they weren’t pretty. She’d been tortured and stabbed to death before being dumped at the lake.
I felt sorry for her family. Knowing those details would only cause them more grief.
“Can I make you something?” Mom asked. “A grilled cheese sandwich or some spaghetti and meatballs?”
My favorite comfort foods from when I was a kid.
“Not really hungry,” I answered, giving her hands a gentle squeeze before letting go. “Thanks, though, Mom.”
“Have you talked to your dad?”
“Mom,” I grumbled, massaging my temple. “No, I haven’t. You know we don’t talk much these days.”
“I know, but I hoped that with the situation, he’d reach out.” She stared at her cup of coffee before taking a sip.
She and Dad had divorced several years ago. Jonathon’s accident had torn our family apart.
“He still blames me.” I didn’t think I could feel any worse, but the mention of my dead baby brother did the trick. My eyes watered, and I cleared my throat, standing from the table and going over to the coffee machine to refill my mug.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Mom said, her voice soft. “I never blamed you, sweetie. What happened to Jon was—”
“Please, Mom.” I braced my hands on the counter and hung my head. “I don’t want to talk about him.”
Jonathon had been four years younger than me. Tender-hearted, fun-loving, and adventurous. He’d been the type of person who would’ve given you his last dollar or the shirt off his back, if you needed it. He’d looked up to me, but I was the one who’d learned so much from him. His death had nearly killed me, too.
Mom didn’t have to blame me. I blamed myself enough for the both of us.
I’d lost Jonathon eight years ago, around the same time I lost Gray.
