I press a kiss to his hair. “It’s over.”
“Yeah.” He turns in my arms and throws his arms around my neck, wincing as the move aggravates his wound. “It is, thank you.”
I stare down into endless black eyes and give him the only truth I can right now. “Anytime, Minni. I’ll slay your monsters with you whenever you need me to.”
His lips part and I close the distance, leaving just a few scant inches between us. “Always?” he whispers.
“If that’s what you want.”
In response, he presses his soft lips to mine.
One Year After Justice Served
Ikneel in front of the grave marker, pissed that—after all her sacrifices—this is all she gets. Though, I’m mostly mad at myself, for knowing where she was for almost a year now and not making time to come see her.
Zay says it’s okay, that she would understand, but that doesn’t make the guilt any easier to bear. When I asked if he could get Hollis to track down her burial site, I thought I would rush here as soon as I had the information, sincehesure as hell had never told me where she was, no matter how many times I asked. Turns out, I’m more fucked-up from what happened than I thought.
“Hey, Mama,” I whisper, brushing my fingers over the simple marker. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long to find you, but I’m here, and I come bearing news.”
The snow seeps into my pants, but I don’t mind the cold, it’s the least I can endure for her.
“I did it, Mama,” I say, voice cracking despite desperately trying to hold it together.
Closing my eyes, I try to gather the courage to say the words I’ve choked on every day for a year now, unable to believe they’re true.
“We’re free,” I say, so softly I can barely hear myself, but that’s okay. They’re out there now. “I did it, Mama. I freed us from him. I’m sorry it took longer than expected, but it’s done. He paid for what he did to us, and now you can rest easy. We can both live our dreams now, Mama, free from the pain and burden of having to live with what he did to us.”
Bringing my fingers to my lips, I kiss them, and then press them into the cold stone.
“I love you, Mama. Merry Christmas. I’ll be back soon, promise.” Looking up, I meet Zay’s intense gaze from where he stands far enough away to give me privacy, but close enough to be my support. “We’llbe back,” I amend.
When I stand, Zay makes his way over and helps me brush the snow from my pants. “You good, Minni?”
I roll my eyes at the stupid nickname and grip one end of his scarf, tugging until he dips his head enough it’s not much of a stretch for me to lift my face to his and kiss him. Maybe I should be embarrassed about kissing my boyfriend in front of my mother’s grave, but I know she only ever wanted me to be happy. Now, without the heavy weight of her death and broken dreams on my shoulders, I can be.
“I’m perfect,” I tell him when we finally break apart. “Now, come on. Reggie is waiting.”
Zay steals one more kiss before grabbing my hand and leading me back the way we came. With every step I take, I feel lighter, the purpose I shaped my whole life around finally gone. The possibilities of the life Zay and I are building, now that my past has been put to rest, is endless, and I can’t wait to explore it with him.
And Reggie.
