“Look at me, Norman.” I take a final step. “Give me the gun.”
“Why did she have to lie? I just want to be the best dad.” His voice drops to a whisper.
“Norman, give me Lucy.” He takes another step away from my voice, just as I see Sterling give me a hand signal in my peripheral vision.
I signal back, letting him know I’m reading him.
On his count of one, he takes a step to his left. On two, I take a step to the right. By three, we both lunge.
I grab for Lucy—Sterling for the gun. It becomes a tangle of arms and legs, and in a quick flurry of movements, I manage to rip Lucy from his arms as Norman dives over the edge.
“Daddyyyyy!” She tries to fight my hold, reaching for her father. I tuck her head into my chest, obscuring her view, and start moving her away.
She clings to me like a lifeline. Her small body is shaking harder than my composure.
“I’ve got you. It’s okay.” I try to soothe her, but as hard as I want to believe it to be true, I know it’s not.
The fear in her scream tears at me, taking me back to the moment I lost my father.
The moment he gave up.
And in that second, I know no amount of time will ever make this okay.
She will never be okay. Never forget this moment, and never forget the pain.
No amount of okays will take it away. It will be forever ingrained in her soul, like a piece of her.
Just like it is with me.
Twenty-Four
Liberty
“Oh, my God, your face when you walked up those stairs. I thought you were going to punch me.” Kota laughs as she drives me home later that day.
We finished lunch hours ago, but between her and her mom wanting to know everything about me, the hours flew by and before we knew it, it was edging closer to dinnertime.
“No way. Now Hetch on the other hand….” I trail off and Kota laughs, probably thinking I’m joking. I’m not. Before I found out he was hugging his sister, I could have easily punched his junk.
“Why do you call him, Hetch? Did he tell you to call him that?” She continues with her questioning.
“I don’t know. I guess when we first met, he introduced himself as Hetch, and it stuck. I notice you and your mom only call him Liam.”
“Yeah, Mom hates it, especially since Dad died. It’s what his friends called him too.” The air in the car stiffens, not in the same way it may have if Hetch had told the same story, but in a way which tells me their loss is still very fresh.
“Do you mind me asking how your dad died, Kota?” I whisper, hoping to get some kind of insight into what Hetch is dealing with.
“Liam hasn’t told you?” Her head whips around briefly to get a read on me.
“No, he told me he passed away. But since then every time it comes up, he kind of shuts down.” I tell her the truth. Whatever happened to Hetch’s father has defined the type of man he is. I just want an understanding of the matter.
“Umm, well, I don’t know. I mean, I don’t have a problem talking about it. It’s just Liam might not be okay with it.”
“Oh, okay. Of course it’s fine.” I push down my disappointment.
“I wish I could tell you, Liberty. But I think it’s probably better coming from him,” she offers, only confusing me more. What does Hetch have to do with it?
“I shouldn’t have asked, I ju—” My words get cut off by the ringtone of Kota’s phone through the car speakers.
“Sterling.” Her smile grows as she accepts the call, as if him calling is the highlight of her day.
Okay, something is definitely going on there.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Where you at right now?” he replies, less excited to speak to her than Kota seems to be by receiving his call.
“Driving back to town. Why, what’s up?” Her tone loses its spark. It’s only subtle, but I pick it up instantly.
“You see the news?”
“No why?”
“Good,” is all he says.
“What’s going on, Sterling. Is Liam okay?” My heart clenches at his name. It takes a second before Sterling answers before I can take a breath.
“We’re at The Elephant. We had a bad call. Surprised you didn’t see the news.”
“Shit,” she curses. Obviously clicking on to something I’m not getting. “How bad?”
“Lost the dad.”
“Shit. How is he?”
“What do you think, Dakota?” The way her name is delivered in a smooth, smoky tone makes my senses come alive.
Holy shit, there is something seriously going on with these two!
“Don’t be an ass, Sterling. I’m coming now. I have Liberty with me. Maybe she can talk him down.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Well it can’t hurt, can it?”
“Fine. Just hurry.” He cuts the call without a good-bye.
“What’s going on, Kota?” I ask, hoping like hell Hetch is okay, and Kota reveals something. Anything.
“Okay, so maybe I should tell you how our father died. If things are as serious with my brother as I think they may be, you need to know what you’re dealing with.” Her confession sets my nerves on fire.