Page 68 of Dark Torment

OLIVIA

I’mnervous as all heck.

Grams’ letter said I would be the only one to know the answer to the security question, but what if I don’t? What if we’ve made this long trip for absolutely nothing? I’m going to feel like an idiot and a failure.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright,” Jon whispers next to me.

We’ve been standing in line at the bank for a few minutes, and I can’t stand still. I probably look like a kid that has to pee with the way I’m fidgeting.

“What if I don’t know the answer?” I question, and he sighs.

“Baby, your grandmother had complete faith in you. You need to breathe, or you’re going to give yourself a panic attack. Then I might have to kill people,” he whispers, trying to calm me, and I chuckle.

“Yeah, no.” I shake my head.

“Next!” the bank teller calls, and I take a deep breath before walking to the counter.

“Hi, umm, I was wondering if I could access a safe deposit box? It was my grandmother’s, and she left it to me when she passed a few months ago.” I swallow the sadness creeping up my throat, refusing to cry in public.

“Sure, hon. What’s the number?” she asks, her southern accent strong. It’s kind of endearing, and I actually smile.

“This is what was left with me,” I tell her, handing over the key and the bank card, along with her death certificate. Thank you, Jonathan, for that reminder. I would have come all the way here without it.

I assume the box number is part of the stuff written on the back.

She takes a look at everything and types something into her computer, confirming Grams’ name with me. “Alright, hon. I just need you to answer the security question for me before I can take ya’ll back there.”

I nod, shaking my hands out and wiping them along my sweater. “Okay. She said I would know the answer in the letter she wrote to me, so I’m hoping I can,” I tell her, rambling from nervousness.

Jon wraps his arm around my shoulder, steadying me and giving me strength.

“Huh, that’s strange,” she says, frowning before looking at me. “It’s not a question so much as a prompt. That’s uncommon, but anyway, here it is. ‘I say this to you when you feel lost.’”

I smile, sniffling at how easy that is. Here, I was worried about the question being something she’d mentioned in passing once or twice. Not something she would say to me every time I was upset.

“Find peace in the stars,” I say, and she smiles at me.

“You got it. That’s actually quite beautiful. Come on and follow me, then.” She waves us to meet her by the end of the long counter, before taking us through a couple of sets of doors.

Once she’s made sure the room is empty, she lets us in and pulls out the box in question before handing me the key. “Just lock everything up when you’re done. I’ll be right outside in case you need anything,” she says before leaving us alone with the box.

“What do you think is inside?” I ask Jon, and he shrugs.

“Most likely routing numbers to the account and documents signing it over to you. If I had to guess, anyway. It’s not that unheard of with older loved ones.”

“I’m scared to open it,” I whisper, looking to him for comfort that he gladly gives.

He steps closer to me, lifting my chin to look at him. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, sunflower. I’m right here. Everything in that box will be things that your Grams wanted you to have. It’s a good thing,” he tells me sternly, and I nod.

“You’re right. Let’s do this.”

I blink a couple of times to get my head on straight before sliding the key into the lock and lifting the lid.

As Jon had guessed, it was a big envelope with a stack of papers. All seeming to be in reference to the bank account, so I pull everything out and lay it on the table for us to go over together.

He’s the lawyer here, so he can help me understand it all.

He starts sifting through the papers, whistling in a surprised kind of way before turning to me. “You might want to sit down,” he says gently, and I widen my eyes.

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