Page 52 of Where He Ended
- Chapter 21 -
Laiken
We drive for severalminutes through the long dark roads that extend away from the estate. Kara's eyes stick to everything our headlights illuminate. She's singularly focused on our escape.
Watching her clutch the steering wheel, taking us around the turns expertly, I think about what she said as we got in the car.Bernard taught her how to drive.How close were they? I haven't thought about it before, but if she lived with him all that time, could they have been friends? Maybe something even more?
“Kara,” I say.
She guns it as we hit a stretch of straight road. “We're not going back,” she spits.
I wasn't going to ask us to, but when she says it, I realize that it was in my subconscious. I hate that we're leaving Dominic behind, I hate that he didn't come with us. How can he keep me safe if he's somewhere else?
The GPS tells us to take one more turn. At the end of it is a small house the color of rust. Kara jams on the brakes until they squeal, then puts the Jaguar in park. “This man,” she says, turning to face me in the car. “Wyatt. Will he actually help us?”
“He will,” I answer confidently. “He told me once how much he wanted to, and how awful it made him feel that he didn't know how.”
We both watch a light flick on over the porch. My sister pockets the keys then steps out in the night air. I get my feet on the gravel just as the front door of the house bursts open. Wyatt is wearing a long sleeved pajama shirt and a pair of plaid pants. He doesn't have any shoes on, and it's such a strange sight that I smile. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asks, squinting at me.
“Dominic sent us,” I say, rushing towards him. “Annie threatened Kara! I didn't know what else to do but get out of there!” My foot touches the porch; he opens his arms wide, and without a second thought I throw myself into his embrace. He pats my back, holding me as I start to shake. All my courage has worn away and all I'm left with is the terrible hole in my heart where Dominic once was.
How could he let me leave without him?
“You must be Kara,” Wyatt says over my head. I pull away, stepping back to watch him stare at my sister. The resemblance between us is obvious. I think he would've known it was her even if I hadn't said so.
Kara comes closer, casting furtive looks over her shoulder.
“Are you being followed?” Wyatt asks.
“We don't know,” my sister says.
He runs his hands over his head, sighing. “Come inside and tell me all the details.”
The lights are on in his downstairs living room, I wonder if he turned them on when he heard our car approaching, or if he just sleeps with the lights on. The walls are covered in photos of Wyatt and a young boy. I'm sure it's him and his son, Pat.
I inspect the rugs; they're a warm, hot cocoa brown, his furniture mismatched and worn on the corners. It smells like maple and my stomach rumbles. I didn't realize I was hungry.
Wyatt motions for us to sit down on the couch. “Get comfortable,” he says. I'll fetch you both something to eat, then you can explain all the details about what happened.”
Kara and I sat on the couch, wordlessly pressing our shoulders together, my head resting on hers. Thinking back over how quickly things went out of control, a fresh shudder rocks my muscles. “She really was going to do something terrible to you,” I whisper.
“I believe you.”
“She wanted to hurt me,” I continue, closing my eyes.Because causing others pain is all she has left.“Kara, Annie was in love with Dad.”
She tightens up next to me. “What? She told you that?”
“She was rambling all over the place. I think when she heard about the message I found at the cabin, she got depressed, realizing that dad was never going to—”
“Wait,” Kara stops me. “What message?”
Of course, she doesn't know about the bridge. How could she? I didn't tell her, his parents wouldn't tell her. That means I have to.
Sitting up, I face her, looping my fingers through hers. She looks me in the eye expectantly. “I went back to our cabin with Dominic yesterday. I was looking for clues that Dad might have left for us, things that only we would find to show us where he'd gone. I thought there had to be something.” I laugh sarcastically. “I was right, therewassomething. He carved a message into the underside of the bridge we all worked on together.”
“What did it say?” she asks under her breath.
“He told me to stop looking for him.” I lower my eyes, shrugging and shaking my head. “Kara, he's gone. I don't think he ever planned to help us. He took a bunch of money from the Bradleys, and then he slipped away with Mom and Dean. That was it. Thatisit,” I add firmly.
