Preston wasn’t happy with my response.
He jerked his hand and glared down at me. “Let go, Little Bird.”
“No,” I repeated. “He’s still got her.”
That’s when the other man tipped his head at me. “This is the one you care about?”
The gun pulled away from Trina and aimed at me.
“Drop your gun, or I’ll shoot her.”
“Not before I get a shot off, asshole,” Preston barked back.
I shook my head and searched his eyes, praying he’d see my plea.
He didn’t, or he didn’t care. He refused to drop his weapon.
“Preston,” I tried again.
“Sorry, Little Bird.” His eyes rolled back to his opponent. “I won’t let you get hurt.”
“This will hurt me.”
Time slowed down as I anxiously glanced from Preston to my sister. I was terrified that everything was going to crumble. I needed Trina, and she needed me. We were two halves of the same soul.
“It’ll be okay,” I reassured her.
Preston would figure out something. He always did.
Not this time.
I felt a gut-wrenching pain when Trina tipped her head and whispered, “It’s okay, Marnie.” My soul began tearing apart, and there she was, smiling at me like when we were kids, and I skinned my knee.
Flashes and images flew through my mind. We were playing at the park with Riley and Shelby, hiding out in our secret fort in the woods, and there were other happy games. The song Trina sang while brushing my hair and the reassuring smile she gave me when we started a new school. Trina was my rock. It was my turn to be her’s, but something flashed across her face, something that went beyond defeat and pain. There wasn’t any fight left in those bright eyes because she’d given up.
My hand reached out desperately, trying to stretch a little closer.
“You have everything you need.” Trina looked over my shoulder at Preston as the man holding her pulled back the hammer on his revolver. “And that’s all that matters.”
She kicked her feet off the ground, sending them both careening over the edge.
“No!” I screamed and rushed forward, prepared to go over the edge with her.
But Preston knocked me to the ground.
“Let me go. I have to save her!”
I wanted to hate him. I wanted to blame him for everything, but all I could do was cling to him and cry. “We have to save her.”
“She’s gone, Marnie.” He kissed the top of my head. “She’s been gone for a long time.”
THREE MONTHS LATER
The hits disappeared the second the man who put them up did. It took a few weeks to make sure there was no one in town still looking to cash in, but that was handled quickly. Micha and Riley put their wedding off for a couple of months. She needed time to deal with her father’s death. Pretty much everything else was back to normal.
My Bird had a hard time adjusting to the loss of her sister, but she was strong and kept her sorrow hidden from everyone but me. During the day, she put on a straight face and took charge of planning the funeral and ensuring her sister’s requests were met.
I didn’t think her mother would ever get over the way Marnie walked right by her without saying so much as a word. Bitch deserved worse as far as I was concerned. But there was something to be said about being left completely alone. Not even Marnie’s grandmother would acknowledge her daughter’s existence. Pastor Dupire’s widow had no one, while the daughter she didn’t protect, had me.
