“Um, no. I don’t know him.” Amy chuckled. “Oh, yes, the kiss you and Nate witnessed. It was a surprise to all of us.”
“But he’s here now,” Nathan reminded her.
“That’s because he’s brought the. . .” she had been about to say police officer when she stopped talking. “He’s Nate’s friend, and when he found out that you were here, he wanted to be here for Nate.”
Nathan glanced at his oldest son and shook his head. “I guess that’s why Elaine came with Nate. She wanted to be here for you. You young-uns are being a pair of stubborn fools. Can’t see what’s in front of you. Neither one of you should try to argue. Elaine is here for Nate.” He glanced at Nate before settling his eyes on Amy. “Kyle didn’t come here because of Nate. He came because of you. Now make this old man happy and figure it out. I’m still waiting to walk you down the aisle. Thought that I was going to do that when Randy talked to me about marrying you. Gave him my blessing, I did.”
Amy twisted her lips, trying not to laugh at her father. “You know darn well that I wasn’t serious about Randy. I was going to break it off with him and you knew that.”
“Who the heck is Randy?” Nate asked, looking very puzzled.
“Your brother doesn’t know? How is that possible when you two see each other every day?” Barbara chuckled at the mischief in Amy’s eyes. “Oh, I get it. We weren’t supposed to have met the fellow.”
“Bingo,” Amy stood and rolled her neck. “You just happened to have been at the diner where we were eating. I’m going to go find some coffee.” Amy narrowed her eyes when Nate acted like he was going to follow her. “No, Nate. I need a few minutes to myself to let everything sink in.”
Nate sighed, glanced at his father, and then walked towards the window to look down at the unfinished parking lot. “She keeps a lot of secrets.”
“Yes, she does.” Nathan agreed.
Nate sighed, stepping over to the bed. “Why was it so important to know about what happened, Dad? I am curious.”
“It’s not only because of what happened to your mother, Nate,” Nathan glanced at Barbara who was holding a newspaper in her hand. “You should read that.”
Nate watched his stepmother stand and hold out the paper. “Why?”
Barbara handed him the obituary page from an out of town paper and pointed to his uncle’s obituary before taking Nathan’s hand.
“Why would I want to read this?”
“Because your father thinks that Amy shouldn’t know,” Barbara answered. “I disagree with him. Your sister should know the reason why Nash passed away.”
Nate nodded and skimmed over the details before closing his eyes and sinking into a chair next to his father’s bed. “Tell me this is a sick joke.” The words were barely audible while he spoke. “It is- right?”
“I’m afraid that it isn’t.” Nathan mumbled. “We don’t know how long he had Aids or when he contracted the HIV virus. Barbara was going to call your cousin to find out, but then this happened.”
“So Amy may or may not have been. . .” Nate looked over at his father and noticed the tears. “I won’t believe that.”
“Nate,” Barbara released her husband’s hand and stepped around the bed. “I think that Amy should know this so that she can be tested, but your father wants to wait until we find out more details.”
“And you want me to settle this? Now?” Nate studied both of them and shook his head. “I can’t do this. Not to Amy, she means everything to me.”
“She can’t not know, Nate.” Barbara responded. “That information was why your father wanted the answer to a question he’s been asking for over ten years. Do you think that it was easy for him to sit there and listen to what you told us?”
“Do you think that it was easy for me to tell you?” Nate stood, shaking his head. “I was there for her more than you ever were, Dad, more than Granny was there for us. Is it fair of either of you to put me in the middle of your little argument? You’re talking like it’s just a decision to be made; it’s not. It’s my sister’s life. You really want to know my opinion about handing her a prewritten death certificate? Do you?” He angrily walked towards the door, “All of my life,” he turned to his father, “I’ve wanted to do nothing more than to protect her. To be the role model that you weren’t. It seems that we both failed. Huh, Dad? Christ, don’t ask me to make that decision. For once in your life, you do what you think is right.”
He walked out of the room and breathed in, deep and long, before he noticed that Elaine was watching him. Closing his eyes, he walked past her and towards the exit where he could clear his thoughts without having to answer questions.
Elaine bit her lip while watching Amy and Kyle talk to the officer and then followed Nate, allowing him a few minutes before approaching him.
“Nate?” She placed a hand on his arm and pulled him towards her after noticing the tears.
≠
Amy answered all of the questions with Kyle standing beside her and waited patiently while pictures of her wrist were taken. When the officer was satisfied with her answers, he left, and Amy glanced at Kyle. “I should probably thank you now.”
“It’s not necessary, Amy. You’ve had a very long evening.” Kyle tried to smile, but failed when he noticed that her fatigue was mixed with both exhaustion and worry. “Maybe, you should go see your father again and then head home.”
Amy nodded, glanced back to the room where her father was recovering and noticed that Elaine wasn’t standing beside the door anymore. “Elaine must’ve left.”
Kyle shook his head. “She and Nate are outside. They went out while you were occupied. Go on, Amy. You look like you can drop where you’re standing.”
Amy glanced at her watch before leaving Kyle beside the desk where they had given their statements. She turned and looked back at Kyle. “Come with me?”
Kyle nodded and quickly caught up to her. “I was going to visit with him before I left anyway. I just thought that you might want a minute by yourself.”
“You think too much.”
“Funny, your brother says I work too much.” Kyle opened the door for her and they walked in to the room together. “Does this mean that I can be around you and. . .”
Amy stopped walking when she saw panic on Barbara’s face before she quickly stood. “Is something going on, Barbara?” Amy asked after she noticed the paper that her stepmother had retrieved from where Nate had been sitting earlier.
“No, nothing at all. Did you find that cup of coffee?” Barbara asked after walking over to where she had been sitting and shoving the paper back in her purse.
“I was talking to somebody. You’re hiding something that you don’t want me to see.” Amy snapped before glancing at her father. “What was that bit about not keeping any more secrets? I think that it should apply to all of us.”
Nathan closed his eyes before focusing on Kyle. “Can we have a few minutes alone?”
Amy glanced at Kyle, who was looking at her and shook her head. “Alone? It must be a doozy. Kyle stays.”
Barbara studied Kyle before nodding her head. “That might be a good thing. Your call, Nathan. Do you still want Kyle to leave?”
“No, it’s not Dad’s call. I want Kyle to stay. I’ve had enough surprises today.” Amy grabbed the paper that Barbara had tried to hide, and she focused on the picture of her uncle before reading the obituary. “So that’s it?”
“Amy.”
“No, don’t Amy me.” She tossed the paper at her stepmother and marched out of the room with Kyle following close behind her.
“Hey,” Kyle pulled on her arm and turned her towards him. “What is going on, Amy? Tell me.”
Amy shook her head, “I’m going home now, Kyle. You were right. I am tired.”
“At least let me drive you home.”
“No, Kyle. I’m fine, really. I need to be myself.” Amy feigned a smile and walked out of the hospital without seeing Elaine and Nate standing off to the side. She st
epped beside her Mustang and opened the door while forcing herself not to think about what she had just read. It was a sick joke. Things like that weren’t mentioned in the obituary. Normally it listed either natural causes or an accident.
Inhaling sharply, she turned the key and placed the car into reverse; memories spinning webs in her mind while she navigated the streets until she pulled up in front of her apartment.
She couldn’t remember how she arrived at the apartment or how she had even made it to her door. All she could remember thinking was that Nash should’ve killed her with that knife instead of giving her a possible life sentence.
Chapter 9
Kyle walked out of the hospital and looked at Nate. “I don’t guess you have any idea what was in that newspaper.”
“Newspaper?”
“Yes, the reason why your sister left. I was in the room when she read it.” Kyle informed him while noticing the panic wash into his friend’s eyes. “Somebody is going to tell me what the hell is going on around here.” He snapped. “I mean it, Nate.”
Nate glanced down at Elaine before covering his eyes with a hand. “We need to get to Amy. I promise that if she wants to talk, Kyle, she will. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”
“So you’re not going to tell me?”
“Us, Kyle.” Elaine mumbled. “Maybe, we should go to the apartment.” She pulled Nate away from the wall and started walking towards her Focus. “We’ll wait for you, Kyle.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes. “I’ll beat you there.” He snapped before running towards his car and peeling out of the parking lot.
Frowning, he opened the door of Amy’s apartment and looked around noticing that there weren’t any lights on before flipping a switch and calling out her name, making his way down the hall where he had seen her go before when he was there. “Amy?” Knocking on the last door, he opened it to see Amy bawled up like an infant in the middle of her bed. “Amy?” He pushed the light switch on the bedside lamp and stared at her. “You left your door unlocked.”
“So?” Amy turned so that her voice was muffled by her pillow. “Why are you here?”
“Because I was worried,” Kyle answered, wishing that he could comfort her and not knowing the reason. “Nate and Elaine are coming, too.”
“No, you should all just leave me alone.” Amy felt him sit down on the bed beside her and turned so that she was staring at him. “I’m serious.”
“How?”
“Deadly,” Amy snapped.
“That is serious, but I am, too. You wanted me in that room and then you bolted. I want to know why.”
“And so do I,” Nate added after stepping into his sister’s room with Elaine. “I know what was in the paper, Amy. Why didn’t you come to me?”
“You can’t make this better, Nate.” Amy sat up in the bed and stared at him. “Nobody can. Maybe, I should travel now while I have the chance. I should just grab my bucket list and start doing the things that I’ve never tried.”
Kyle arched his eyes and reached for one of her hands. “Why are you talking like this?”
“Because I’m dying,” Amy snapped, allowing the tears to finally fall. “They tried to hide that from me.”
“You don’t know that, Amy. You can be tested.” Nate stepped towards the side of the bed opposite of where Kyle was sitting. “I won’t believe that you’re dying.”
“That’s what the paper said.” Amy stated. “Why didn’t he just kill me, Nate? Why?”
Kyle swallowed hard and stood. “What are we talking about here? Dang it, Nate, you said that I would know.”
Nate looked from him to his sister. “Amy?”
“Whatever,” Amy watched Elaine push Kyle from the bed and sit down right beside her.
“Amy, whatever this is, we’ll get you through it.”
“Not this time, Elaine.” Amy let Elaine hug her while Nate informed Kyle about what had happened to Amy as a teenager.
“And now it’s come out that he passed away from complications due to Aids,” Nate finished, watching Kyle stand and pace the room. “Kyle?”
“I finally meet the woman that I can imagine spending the rest of my life with, and you’re telling me that because of this, it won’t happen.”
“It’s not about you, Kyle.” Nate retorted angrily. “It’s about Amy.”
Amy wiped at her eyes and watched Kyle stop pacing.
“I’m not leaving you,” Kyle pointed towards Amy. “But I know that you’re going to push me. I still want to be with you. I want. . .”
“No, Kyle. You need to leave.” Amy spoke softly. “That’s my decision. I have to accept what my life really is. Now. At this moment.”
“But you don’t even know if you have it,” Kyle reminded her. “Amy, I love you.”
Amy stared at him like he had lost his marbles. “How do you know?”
Elaine studied Kyle and then scooted to the side of the bed. Standing, she motioned for Nate to follow her out of the room.
Kyle sat on the bed again and sighed. “How do I know? I watch for you when I’m playing ball with your brother. I find myself wondering what you’re doing in the middle of the lunch rush. I’m always thinking about you. I see something silly and want to buy it, but I don’t because I think that if I do you would freak out. I wanted to body slam Bob when he started talking about you like he did. And let’s not start about what I really wanted to do to Eccard.” Kyle rambled, but he didn’t care. “When that guy you were seeing made you happy, I tried to push aside what I was feeling. The way my nerves tingled every time you were anywhere close to where I was, it was like a radar.” He smiled when he recognized the acknowledgement in Amy’s eyes. “You felt it, too.”
“But it doesn’t matter, Kyle. It will never matter.”
“Did he make you happy?” Kyle asked, sliding to where he was closer to her.
“Randy?”
“I guess so,” Kyle frowned. “I can’t tell you how often I had wished that it was me that you were with. That you were in my arms and I could feel your heart. Amy, I don’t want you to go through this alone; let me be with you.”
“Kyle, I can’t.” Amy grabbed a pillow from behind her and hugged it to her chest. “Have you ever watched somebody die? Seen what it could to the person left behind? I have. I won’t let you be that person.”
“You’re not dying.” Kyle pulled her towards him. “I won’t accept that.”
“That could be a problem,” Amy felt comforted by his presence and let the rhythm of his heart sooth her. “A big problem.”
“My problem, Amy. Who did you watch die?”
“My mother,” Amy answered, “and my grandmother.”
Kyle held her tight while he thought about what he had learned about her. “I’m always going to be here for you, Amy. First thing we do is go in for a test, and the second thing we do is celebrate because you’re not going to die that kind of death.”
“You’re an optimist.”
“I have a reason to be,” Kyle whispered above her ear. “Why don’t you get some rest now? I’ll stay until you go to sleep.” He watched her stand and grab a pair of flannel pajamas before walking out of the bedroom to change. Sighing, he closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that Amy would be spared.
He was sitting with his back on the headrest after pulling down the blankets for Amy when she walked back into the room looking more like herself and smiled. “Nice jammies.”
“I like them,” Amy mumbled before he stood. “I thought that you said you were staying until I fell asleep.”
“I am, but I’m going to tuck you in.” Kyle waited until she was sitting in the bed before pulling the blankets up around her. Sitting next to her, he found himself studying her. “Do you want to talk?”
“About?”
“Your mother,” Kyle answered.
“My mother was very pretty,” Amy smiled before stretching out on the bed. “She had the prettiest green eyes and long wavy brown hair. I always wished I
had her eyes. They twinkled.”
“Your eyes twinkle,” Kyle informed her, “especially after I kissed you in the restaurant.”
“Sure they did.” Amy laughed, “I thought we were talking about my mother.”
“I’m just saying that you have some pretty eyes.” Kyle mumbled after stretching out beside her above the covers. “And they sparkle.”
“She was so frail.” Amy turned so that she was looking at him. “She needed a heart transplant.”
Kyle noticed a tear at the edge of her eye and dried it with a tip of his finger. “She didn’t receive one?”
“She did, but her body rejected it. Dad called some people so that Mom could die at home. He didn’t want her to die alone in the hospital, and he thought that she might do better if she could be around me and Nate. She did, but it was so hard to watch her wither away.” Amy sniffed and rested her head on Kyle’s chest. “Dad was so lost after she passed. That’s when he dropped us off at his mother’s house.”
“And Barbara?”
“He met her while I was in college and when we were introduced, she was already his wife.” Amy answered. “Or when I met her. Nate had already had the pleasure.”
“You’re angry about that.”
“Not really. I never saw a lot of Dad until Granny had her heart attack and then it was only once a week at some restaurant. I think that we’re tighter as a family now, and Barbara has a lot to do with that turnaround.”
Kyle rubbed her back while they talked. “You’ve always been close to your brother.”
“We depended on each other, and I think that he’s always felt responsible for what I did or didn’t do. He was always my number one defender.”
“But that thing with your uncle. . .”
“I never told anybody.” Amy sighed being reminded about the recent event. “I thought that it was for the best.”
“But it wasn’t, Amy. Nash should’ve rotted away in a jail cell for what he had done to you.” Kyle felt her tense. “But I can understand.” He kissed her forehead and watched when she looked up at him. “I do.”
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