Page 29 of Hail Mary

“Can you take me to the house where she… died.” Katie eyes me skeptically for a beat.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asks cautiously.

“I need to let shit go and if that house is a part of his life, I need to see it. Please, Katie.”

She sighs and nods. “Okay.”

* * *

We pull up out front of a two-story home. Yellow tape still covers the patio and I begin to rethink my decision as Katie parks her car in the empty driveway. The moment she kills the ignition, all that can be heard is my own heavy breathing. My palms begin to grow clammy and I have to rub them on my jeans a couple times.

“Lexi, you don’t have to do this,” she says gently. I shake my head, keeping my gaze on the front of the house.

“Why is there still tape?” I ask. I see her shoulders deflate as she takes a shuddering breath and looks in the direction of the house.

“No one has been back here since the day after. The guys packed everything and never came back.”

“Why?”

“They all left it up to Corvin on what to do with the house. He hasn’t come back here since that night and I honestly don’t think he plans to, but it’s not like they are out of pocket leaving it vacant or anything.” I snort, of course not, they are all fucking loaded.

“Do you have a key?” I ask as I get out of the car. Katie follows my lead and gets out.

“I know where the spare is.” She leads the way up the path. I force each foot in front of the other. Katie climbs the steps and comes to a stop just before the yellow tape. I peer around her to see bunches of flowers and soft toys people have left here. The dead can’t do shit with the flowers or a teddy bear, I never saw the point in that shit. Ducking under the tape I watch as Katie lifts a plant in the corner and pulls a key out. The moment the lock clicks open, we both still for a second before she pushes the door open. I follow her in and look around. The house smells like… I can’t even describe it really. Dust covers everything which further confirms she is right, no one has been here in months.

I don’t look around as I follow Katie past the living room, into the kitchen and head into another room that looks like a rumpus slash games room. Katie freezes in the doorway. I push past her and step further into the room, coming to a stop at the sight on the floor. Gauze, gloves and other things from the EMTs remain on the floor, but it’s the brownish stain on it that pulls my focus. This is where Cody took her last breath.

“He held her and tried to stop the bleeding. He was covered in her blood, Lexi. He was the first to perform CPR and even after the paramedics pronounced her dead, he took over and continued to try and revive her. Corvin stayed with her the entire time until the coroner turned up and asked him to step out. Even when they were taking her out, he stopped them and told her he loved her again.” Tears slowly trail down my cheeks. “He held her and told her everything she wanted to hear. The sounds that came from him when he finally accepted that she was gone will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

I slowly turn around to face her and ask, “Why are you telling me this?”

Her features harden. “Because you are full of shit.” I balk at her. “You didn’t need to come here to let go of shit, you’re just trying to find any excuse not to admit you are in love with the same guy your sister was. Cody is gone, Alexa. She isn’t coming back to claim Corvin, but you can. You can claim your man, but you need to pull your fucking head out of your ass and stop punishing yourself and him for something neither of you could have stopped. It was a horrific accident. Let it go and move on, Lexi. It’s what she would want and you know that.”

Hearing the truth out loud fucking stings like a bitch.

* * *

“Wake up.” I jolt awake in my seat and stare out the window to see it’s dark out. I look at the time on the clock on the dash, shit, it’s nine o’clock at night. I look over to Katie who seems uneasy about being here and I feel like an ass for making her drive me out here to the cabin when I know she doesn’t want to see Saint and Crue.

“So, you gonna go get your man or what, boo?” I look back at Nathan and smirk. He is a fucking good time and honestly, I envy these girls for being able to call him their friend.

“Yeah, I am,” I say with such conviction I surprise myself. Nathan leans forward and gives me a hug, then I hug Katie. “Thank you for everything.”

She smiles lovingly and winks. “Get out of here before they see my headlights.” I nod and thank them both again before getting out. I refused to allow them to drive back to CHU tonight, so I managed to nab a hotel an hour away from here for them. I watch Katie and Nathan drive away before I turn back to the mansion of a cabin. Three cars sit here in the driveway and I recognize none of them. I take a deep breath and begin to walk up the path. The moment I climb the porch steps a light flicks on and then the front door is yanked open. I come to a stop at the site of Leah standing in the doorway.

“Alexa?” If her face didn’t give away her shock at the sight of me, her tone sure did.

“Uh, hey?” I say awkwardly, the last time we saw each other wasn’t exactly pleasant so there is tension thrumming between us.

“Babe?” I hear someone call out a second before Darius appears beside Leah. At the sight of me his brows jump to his hairline. “What the fuck,” he breathes out.

This is so fucking awkward, why couldn't Corvin have just answered the door! “Uh, is Corvin around?” I ask hesitantly. Darius frowns, looking confused. Leah on the other hand looks murderous. Yippee.

“He isn’t here,” she forces out through clenched teeth.

“What?” Leah has to be full of shit, he told me himself this is where he would be spending Easter and it’s Good Friday.

“Corvin got drafted, Alexa.” I stare at Darius completely thrown off by his declaration.

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