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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"You’re my best friend," Lucas says.

Lindy smiles at him. "You’re my bestest friend, too."

LUCAS

Lindy passed out as soon as I got her to car. I am grateful that she didn’t have to see Kelsey’s lifeless body lying on the ground, but I wish like hell that she would wake up. The doctors say that it is just a concussion, but I am getting fucking tired of waiting for her to open her eyes. I look at her bruised face and lean down to kiss her cheek. I am just straightening back up when Dad and Chris walk into the room.

"She hasn’t woken up yet?" Dad asks, looking down at Lindy.

I shake my head. "Hell, no. I don’t know what the fuck is taking so long."

"She will wake up soon. Just give her a little time to heal," Chris says.

I nod and look back to Dad. "What did you find out?"

"We talked to Reynolds. When he found out his daughter was dead, he finally admitted that he was not the Mirror Man, Kelsey was. She called him after she was done, and he would come help her try to get rid of the evidence. He said after each time, she would promise not to do it again," Dad says.

"Why was his blood at Kayla Thompson’s house then?" I ask.

"We asked that too. He says that he cut his hand on a broken mirror," Chris explains.

I shrug my shoulders. "I still don’t understand why she did it."

"Her father told her that you two belonged together."

I jerk my head towards Lindy, and she is looking up at me. I reach down and give her a gentle kiss. "Fuck, baby. I thought I had lost you."

"Never," she whispers.

She looks around the room then back to me. "Why am in the hospital?"

"You have a pretty bad concussion, but you are going to be just fine."

She starts to raise her hand to her head, but I catch it. "No, you can’t touch your head. You had to have a few stitches."

Her eyes grow round. "They didn’t have to shave my head, did they?"

I hear Dad and Chris chuckle and a smile spreads across my face. "No, baby. The stitches are on your forehead, so you’ve still got all your hair."

Her face grows sad, and she squeezes my hand. "Kelsey’s dead, isn’t she?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, baby. She shot herself."

Lindy’s eyes fill with tears as she tells us what Kelsey had said to her. I shake my head at how crazy it sounds. "So, she thought we were still in high school?"

She shrugs her shoulder. "I don’t know. That’s the way she was talking, but I kind of think she knew better. She just wanted to please her dad so bad that it was easier to pretend."

I wipe a tear from her cheek. "Don’t cry over her, baby. She isn’t worth your tears. The bitch could have killed you."

Lindy looks up at me. "I’m crying for the person she could have been. If she had a dad like mine."

LINDY

"I’m fine. I just want to get up," I say, as I swing my legs over the side of the hospital bed.

Lucas shakes his head in frustration. "You know that you are not supposed to be up. You could get dizzy and fall."

"I have to go to the bathroom." I’m adamant about this. "I don’t really want to do it in the bed."

He bends down and tries to push his hands under my legs. "I’ll carry you to the bathroom."

I swat his hands away. "No! I want to walk, but you can walk beside me. I promise to tell you if I start to feel dizzy."

He nods his head and helps me out of the bed. As soon as we get to the bathroom, I look up at him. "I can get it from here."

He shakes his head. "I am not going anywhere."

I blow out a loud breath. "Fine! At least, turn around."

He nods his head and turns to face the door. A moment later, I call out his name. He helps me back to the bed and smiles down to me. "How are you feeling?"

"Embarrassed."

"What in the hell are you embarrassed about?"

I can feel a blush spread across my face as I look up at him. "You just heard me pee."

He starts to laugh but stops when we hear the door open. The doctor walks in, carrying a bunch of paperwork. "The nurses say that you are ready to get out of here."

I nod. "I am. I haven’t seen my daughter in two days."

He nods his head. "I’ve signed your release papers. The nurse will come in and go over them with you. Make sure to follow all the instructions she gives you."

I smile at him. "I will."

A few minutes later, the doctor leaves the room. As soon as the door closes, I grab Lucas’ hand. He looks down
at me and I smile. "I’m going home."

LUCAS

I walk into the living room and smile at what I see. Lindy is watching one of her stupid ass vampire shows, while Sammy sleeps on her chest. No one would ever guess that she had just been in the hospital three weeks ago. I walk over and sit down beside her. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her into my side. "How was your day, baby?"

A grin creases her face. "Great. Tara came over and told me some great news."

"What?"

"She thinks that Daniel is going ask her to marry him."

"That is good news." I don’t exactly mean that because I am pretty sure that Tara is wrong. Daniel has always said that he would never get married, and he hasn’t changed his tune.

She smiles over at me. "I am so happy for her."

I give her a little squeeze. "How was Sammy today?"

She gives Sammy a kiss on the top of her head. "She was a little cranky. Your mom says that she is cutting teeth."

I look down at Sammy sleeping peacefully and look back at Lindy. "She looks pretty peaceful now. You think she might be out for a while?"

She bites her lip and smiles at me. "Probably for a little while. Why, you have something on your mind?"

I raise my eyebrow and place a gentle kiss on her lips. "I was thinking that we could spend some quality mommy and daddy time."

Lindy nods her head and stands up. She takes Sammy to the nursery and walks back to the couch. She straddles my lap, facing me. "I was thinking about you today. Thinking about when we were kids."

I wrap my arms around her waist. "What about, Lindy Lou?"

"Do you remember that day, when we were maybe seven? You told me that I was your best friend."

I nod my head, to let her know that I do.

"I was so proud to have you as my best friend back then. Now, I am honored to have you as my husband. I am a very lucky woman."

I can feel my heart swell inside my chest. "Damn, baby. Do you not realize that I am the lucky one in this relationship? I was lucky enough to fall in love with my best friend and lucky enough to have her fall in love with me."

A smile spreads across her face. "I love you, Lucas."

I pull her into me and place my mouth near her ear. "I love you too, Lindy Lou."

EPILOGUE

FIVE YEARS LATER

LINDY

I walk into the living room and see Sammy sitting on the couch, holding my dad’s picture. I shake my head, because she knows that she is not supposed to touch the picture frames. I start
to go over and take it from her but stop when she starts talking.

"Hi
, Grandpa. My name is Samantha Tara Beck. No one calls me that ever. They all call me Sammy. 'Cause that was your name. I’m real sad that I never got to meet you. Mommy says you was a good daddy. So I think you would have been a good grandpa. Maybe, you would have even given me gum. Grandpa Paul won’t. He says I will get it in my hair. But that only happens sometimes."

I see Lucas walking down the hall, and I motion for him to come to me. He walks over and wraps his arms around my waist. He starts to say something, but I place my finger on his lips and nod towards Sammy.

"My mommy is a teacher. She works at the school I will be going to next month. She says she can’t be my teacher, but that’s okay. She will still be there if I get sad. My Daddy has his very own motorcycle shop. He works there every day but Sunday. He even drives a big black motorcycle that has red flames on the side. I love to ride on it with him, but it scares Mommy when I do. Sometimes Daddy lets me ride when she is not around. But I’m not scared at all. 'Cause it’s lots of fun."

I look up
at Lucas and raise my brow. He gives me a shit-eating grin and shrugs his shoulder. I shake my head and look back at Sammy.

"Did you know that I just had a new baby brother? His name is Jess, and he is really, really little. He is okay for a brother, but he cries a whole lot. He has to wear diapers and sometimes they stink really bad. Mommy said that mine did too, but I don’t think I ever smelled that bad." Sammy takes a deep breath and starts talking again. "My Granma Wanda loves to play with Jess, but I kno
w that I am her favorite. 'Cause, she tells me how much she loves me every single day. Granny Maggie loves me the best too. I know she does, 'cause she is always making me sundaes and she never gives Jess any. Grandpa Chris and Grandma Abbie bought me a new bike. 'Cause, I am their favorite too. They only bought Jess a stupid rattle."

I can feel Lucas’ body vibrating with laughter, but he tenses when Sammy starts talking again.

"Aunt Tara is going to have a baby too. She is kinda sad though. Cause Uncle Daniel moved away. I don’t know why he left, but I know she misses him a whole lot. 'Cause, she cries all the time. Daddy says Uncle Daniel is an asshole, but I’m not allowed to say that word. I think it really just means that he is a big ole meanie. I told Mommy that I wanted Uncle Daniel to come back, and she says that we will just have to wait and see what happens."

Sammy is quiet for a moment. Then she gets off the couch and places Dad’s picture back on the table. She rub
s her little hand over it. "My Mommy is always talking to you and telling you how happy she is. So, I wanted you to know how happy I am too. But, I got to go now Grandpa. 'Cause I want to go play on my new bike. Don’t worry, I will tell you more stuff later."

Lucas and I watch Sammy run out the door. As soon as the door shuts, I look up to Lucas. "Thank you."

He gives me a squeeze. "For what, baby?"

"For crawling through my window," I whisper.

THE END

MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR

WHISKEY LULLABY

By

Dawn Martens and Emily Minton

Prologue

JULIE

I’m just finishing making Jase's birthday cake. It’s his favorite, chocolate with vanilla pudding in the middle. We’ve been living together for three years, and I still get butterflies whenever I think about him.

Jase and I have known each other since we were just kids, but we didn't become a couple until I was a freshman and he was a senior. I remember talking to my two best friends, Kristen and Bec, when he came up and told me we were going out. Yes, he told me I was going out with him that night. Since then we’ve been inseparable.

He was, and is, the sexiest thing I have ever seen. He has thick, light-brown hair that hangs just below his chin, and beautiful dark-brown eyes that sparkle when he laughs; they turn nearly black when he is inside me. He’s tall, a little over six feet. He’s slim but muscular. He was the star quarterback on the school’s football team. All the girls wanted him; I couldn’t believe he wanted me. Sometimes, I still can't.

I was just the normal girl that really didn’t do anything except study. I was shy and quiet, and I kept mostly to myself. I only had a few friends. It was really just Kristen, Bec and me against the world.

Kristen is my cousin, but she is really more of a sister. My brother and I have lived with her family since I was seven. See, my mom ran off with some trucker and left me and Brandon alone in our little trailer. He was just nine, but he tried his best to take care of me. Three days after she left, we ran out of food; the next day, the Department of Children's Services was at our door.

We haven’t seen Mom since. My dad was never in the picture. Honestly, I wonder if Mom even knew who he was. Luckily, Mom’s brother Mack was more of a parent than she ever was. He and his wife took us in. They have two kids of their own, Kristen and Will. We had never even met them before we moved in, but it didn't take long for us all to become one big family.

A year after Jase and I started dating, he gave me his Grandpa's dog tags. He’d been wearing them since he was just a kid. When he gave them to me, he said they use to be his most prized possession, but now I am. He said when people saw them around my neck, that everyone would know that I was his. I’ve been wearing them every day since.

We moved in together my senior year. My uncle and aunt flipped out when I said I wanted to move in with Jase. They knew him, and his dad was Uncle Mack's best friend, but they’d been really protective of me since my brother Brandon and I moved in with them. 

After lots of long talks and lots of pleading from me and Jase, Uncle Mack and Aunt Angie relented and allowed me to move in with Jase. But not before they gave him the ‘talk’. I wasn't allowed in the room, so I'm not sure what was said, but Jase was as white as a sheet when they were done. A week later, they helped me pack up my things and moved me into Jase’s place. We've been living our own ‘happily ever after’ ever since.

Jase works at his pop’s garage. He comes home smelling like gas and covered in grease, but it’s good money. His brothers work there too, and I think he enjoys being with them every day. It seems like he works all the time, but he's doing what he loves. That is all that matters to me.

After I finish cleaning up the kitchen, I head to our bedroom and put on my new knee length blue dress. I look at myself in the mirror and like what I see. The dress hugs all the right curves, but doesn't show any of my extra bits. Bec's been telling me I need to lose a little weight, so I've been trying to diet. I've lost a few pounds, but I don't think Jase has even noticed.

Bec's been telling me a lot of things lately, all bad. Like I'm getting fat, my hair is stringy, I'm too clingy with Jase; the list goes on. I am not sure why she keeps acting this way, but I know that I am getting tired of it.

I fluff up my long dark-brown hair, take one more look in the mirror, and head back downstairs. I plan to surprise Jase at work. I’ve never done this before, but I think he’ll love it. He turned twenty-two today. It is his first birthday since his mom died, and I want to make sure it’s the best birthday he’s ever had.

Jase has been having a really hard time since Michelle died, but he won't talk about it. It's been almost a year, and he still won't even mention her. He's drinking a lot. He even stayed out all night a time or two. I'm kind of worried, but Aunt Angie says everyone has to grieve in their own way. So I'm trying to give him his space, but it’s hard to see him struggling so much and not try to help.

Settling into my car, I place his birthday cake in the passenger seat. I imagine the look on his face when he sees me carrying a cake into the garage. He loves my cake, but he loves me more. I know he'll be happy to see me, but he'll be even happier when he sees what I’ve got on under my dress.

I pull into the parking lot and make my way inside. I don’t see him when I first go in. That’s strange; I figured he would be out in his bay working. I wave at the guys, but no one waves back. Not one of them will look at me. Even Jase's baby brother Shane is looking the other way. I'm not sure what’s wrong, but I know it’s bad.

Nervous butterflies flutter in my stomach. My heart starts to beat fast and I feel hot all over. I hear noises coming from inside the office, so I head that way. As soon as I open the door, my heart rips in two. Jase's pants are down and a pair of long legs are wrapped around his back. They’re on Pop's desk, and they’re going at it so hard that the desk is squeaking.

"Yes, Jase, harder, baby. Fuck me like you can’t fuck your innocent little Julie."

Oh my God, Bec! Jase grunts and starts to speed up. My head starts to spin and my stomach starts to roll. How could they hurt me this way? I feel like I’m going to be sick. Maybe I’m seeing things that aren’t real. Jase wouldn’t do this to me. I take another look in the room and see that I wasn’t wrong. My best friend and boyfriend are screwing each other behind my back! I back up slowly so they don’t hear me and bump into Shane's chest. He places his hand on my back and walks me out front.

Shane drops his arm and looks at me. Pity is etched on his face. "I'm sorry, Jules. I should've stopped you. You never should have seen that, but I thought you deserved to know."

I look up at him and shake my head. I somehow find my voice. "This isn’t your fault. Can you do me a favor though?" My voice cracks a little.

"Anything for you, Jules."

"Don't tell Jase I was here. Make sure the rest of the guys don't tell him either."

Shane nods his head. "I'll make sure no one says a word."

I look down and notice that I'm still carrying his stupid birthday cake. I walk over and sit it by the garage door, and run to my car.

When I make it back home, I run up to our room. Grabbing my suitcase from the closet, I quickly pack as much of my stuff as I can. I look around the room, our room, with a heavy heart. Removing his Grandpa’s dog tags from around my neck, I head toward our bed. I know that taking them off means that we are truly over. I place them on Jase's pillow and run to my car. Before I can get in the driver’s seat, Matty, Jase's brother pulls up. When he gets out, his eyes go on alert.

"Where are you going, Jules?"

"I don't know."

"What the hell happened?"

I surprise myself when the words tumble out of my mouth. "I went to surprise Jase, and he was having sex with one my best friends." Tears threaten and finally win as I sob heavily. Immediately, Matty wraps me up in his arms and starts to rub small circles on my back. I look up at Matty and the tears fall even harder. He looks so much like Jase that it hurts to even look at him. "I have to get out of here before Jase gets home. I can’t face him right now."

"You don’t have to leave,
" Matty whispers, guilt lacing his voice.

I have a feeling that he knew what was going on with Jase and Bec, but I am afraid to ask. Matty has been my friend for years. It would hurt too much if he had kept this from me.

"I have to go. There is no way that I can be around him," I explain.

"I’m sorry, Jules. He doesn’t deserve you," Matty says and continues to rub my back.

I jerk away at his words and nearly shout, "No, he doesn’t. That’s why I’m leaving."

He’s quiet for a moment, just staring at me. Then a sad smile spreads across his face. "You could give it a little time before you leave. You know that my brother isn’t the only man in town."

I shake my head. "No! I can’t even think about that right now."

He loses his smile. "Where are you going?"

"I don’t know yet, but far away from here."

He nods. "Will you at least call me when you figure it out?"

My tears catch in my throat. I’m afraid to answer. Nodding my head is all I can manage.

"And you better call me every once in a while just to let me know you’re okay." My chest expands with emotion. What the hell went so wrong? I nod again then give Matty a quick kiss on the cheek before I hop into my car.

Sadness hangs around me as I look toward our home one more time before hitting the road. Tears stream down my face as I whisper, "Goodbye, Jase."

******

JASE

I finish up my shift and clean up before going home. I had a good lunch break with Bec today. Well, I got off, so I guess that makes it good. I didn't even want to do it, but Bec wasn't willing to take no for answer. I figured the best thing to do was just fuck her and get it over with.

The guys didn't make me feel any better. Not one of them would even talk to me. Hell, they'll hardly even looked at me. Well, they can just suck my dick. None of them know what it's like being in a relationship. Maybe when one of them gets their own woman, I'll give a fuck what they think.

What the hell am I saying? Julie's not the problem. She's the best thing that ever happened to me. This is all about Mom dying. This shit does not have one fucking thing to do with my Julie.

Only Matty and Shane know what I’m going through. Losing a mom isn’t easy. Losing a mom like mine is fucking intolerable, especially when it was all my Dad’s fault. He just had to get him some on the side. If it wasn’t for that shit, my mom would still be here.
Fuck!
The irony isn’t wasted on me. I guess I’m just like him.

Even Bec looked ashamed today; she even froze up right in the middle. I don’t even think she got off, but I don’t give a damn. Maybe she'll leave me the hell alone now. It was a mistake, never to happen again. At least, that’s what we always say. Bec promised she wouldn’t tell Julie. She never has, thank fuck for that.

I come out of the garage and notice a cake sitting by the door. What the hell? I bend down to grab it, when I notice my name written across the top. Guilt slams me even more than before. Julie was here! Shit, she probably saw me and Bec. Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?

I race over to my truck and drive as fast as I can to get home. I pull into our driveway and notice that my brother Matty's truck is here, but I don’t see Julie’s car anywhere.

As soon as I walk into the house, I’m thrown back from Matty punching me in the face. "You are a fucking stupid son of a bitch. You lost the best thing that ever happened to you, and for what? A quick lay that you could have gotten from your own girl?" he yells at me.

"What do you mean, I lost her? Where the hell is she?" I yell back. I run up the stairs without letting him answer me. Our bedroom seems empty. The bed is unmade. There's no make-up or perfume on the dresser, and even the pictures of her family are missing.
No!
Panic consumes me as I run to the closet. All of her things are gone, except for the stuff I bought her.

I walk out of the closet and head to the bed. Grandpa's dog tags are lying on my pillow. She hasn’t taken them off in years. She knows how important they are to me, and she knows that wearing them makes her mine. Realization hits me hard. I know that her taking them off means she's done. Sinking to my knees, I cry. This is the first time that I've cried since I was a kid. I didn’t even shed a tear when my mom died, but I can’t keep the tears away now. It seems forever that I’m sitting on the hard floor, crying at my complete and utter fuck up. I cry for Julie. I cry for my mom, and I cry because I know my life will never be the same.

I’m startled from my thoughts at the sound of Matty’s voice. "Told you, man, you fucked up, and you have no one to blame but yourself." I look up and Matty’s standing in the doorway.

"Where is she?" I pull myself together and stand up. My body is tense from trying to swallow the pain of losing my girl.

"I don’t know, man. She packed her shit and left. She’s gone. You should have seen her. She was fucking broken," he sneers, shaking his head. "Shit, brother, I told you when you started with her to keep your dick in your pants. Wherever she goes, I hope she’s happy." Contempt fills his face as he looks at me with disgust.

Turning away from me, he stops in the doorway and looks back. "If she comes back, she's not your girl anymore. You better remember that, because I hope like hell that I can make her mine." With that he slams the door.