Losing Hope: A Novel

Chapter Forty

Les,

She knows.

And I can’t believe I just dropped her off at her house and left. I don’t care if she doesn’t want to be around me right now. There’s no way in hell I can just leave her alone. I wish you were here right now because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

H


I shoot straight up when I hear her scream next to me on her bed. She’s gasping for breath.

Another nightmare.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she says.

I glance down at my watch, then rub my eyes. I’m trying to sort out what all has been real in the past few hours and what all was a dream.

Unfortunately, it was all real.

I place my hand on her leg and scoot closer to her. Her eyes are terrified. “I couldn’t leave you. I just needed to make sure you were okay.” I slide my hand around her neck and her pulse is pounding against my palm. “Your heart. You’re scared.”

She’s looking at me wide-eyed. Her chest is heaving and the fear rolling off her is breaking me. She brings her hand to mine and squeezes it. “Holder . . . I remember.”

I immediately turn her to face me and I force her eyes up to mine. “What do you remember?” I ask, nervous for her answer.

She begins to shake her head, not wanting to say it. I need her to say it, though. I need to know what she remembers. I nod my head, silently coaxing her to continue. She takes a deep breath. “It was Karen in that car. She did it. She’s the one who took me.”

This is exactly what I didn’t want her to feel. I hug her. “I know, babe. I know.”

She clings to my shirt and I tighten my grip, but push her away as soon as her bedroom door swings open.

“Sky?” Karen says, watching us from the doorway.

Karen looks at me, trying to figure out why I’m here. She turns back to Sky. “Sky? What . . . what are you doing?”

Sky spins back around and looks me desperately in the eyes. “Get me out of here,” she begs in a whisper. “Please.”

I nod, then stand up and walk to her closet. I don’t know where she wants to go, but I know she’ll need clothes. I find a duffel bag on the top shelf, then walk it to her bed. “Throw some clothes in here. I’ll get what you need out of the bathroom.”

She nods and heads to her closet while I head into her bathroom to grab whatever else she might need. Karen is pleading with her not to leave. When my hands are full, I walk out of the bathroom and Karen has her hands on Sky’s shoulders.

“What are you doing? What’s wrong with you? You’re not leaving with him.”

I walk around Karen and try to remain as calm as possible for all of our sakes. “Karen, I suggest you let go of her.”

Karen spins around, shocked at my words. “You are not taking her. If you so much as walk out of this house with her, I’m calling the police.”

I don’t say anything. I’m not sure if Sky wants her to know that she knows the truth, so I do my best to refrain from saying what I’ve wanted to say to Karen since the moment I realized she’s the one responsible. I zip the duffel bag and reach for Sky’s hand. “You ready?”

She nods.

“This isn’t a joke!” Karen yells. “I’ll call the police! You have no right to take her!”

Sky reaches into my pocket and pulls out my cell phone, then steps toward Karen. “Here,” she says. “Call them.”

She’s testing Karen. Her wheels are churning as fast as mine and she’s hoping she can prove that Karen is innocent in all of this. It makes my heart break for her, because I know Karen isn’t innocent. This is only going to end badly.

Karen refuses to take the phone and Sky grabs her hand and shoves the phone into her palm. “Call them! Call the police, Mom! Please,” she says. Sky’s eyebrows draw apart and she pleads desperately, one last time. “Please,” she whispers.

I can’t watch Sky endure this for another second, so I grab her hand and lead her to the window, then help her climb out of it.