Redemption

by Danica Avery

Luka brought the bags into the kitchen and put them down on the table. “What happened?”

  Burley turned from his friend and left the kitchen without replying. He pushed through the front door, going back to the Jeep. Luka quickly followed after him.

  “Com’on, man, you gotta tell me more than that. Did you try to explain?”

  “She wouldn’t let me,” Burley muttered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She took off. Got in her car and left. I didn’t go after her. I didn’t see the point.” Burley came to a stop at the Jeep. He bent to pull some more bags out of the vehicle, but paused when he felt a hand on his arm.

  “I think you should try talking to her, man. How long ago was this? Maybe she just needed some time to think.”

  Burley looked at Luka a moment, as if considering what he was saying, then he gave a harsh shake of his head. “Trust me, Luka, it’s over. She couldn’t even look me in the eye. She don’t want nothin’ more to do with me and I can’t blame her.”

  Luka dropped his hand and let out a sigh. Burley picked up a bag, and Luka stepped in to get the last one. He bumped the door shut with his hip, then they were walking back towards the house.

  “I think you should try,” Luka insisted, as they were putting down the last of the bags on the table. “You really seemed happy with her, man.”

  “I knew it wouldn’t last,” Burley retorted. He appreciated Luka trying to help, but there was nothing his friend could say to convince him to keep trying with Dove.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. He missed her. He felt more alone now than he had in a long time. He missed her smile, and her laugh. He missed lying in bed and talking with her after a wild session of lovemaking. When he went over to take care of the horses, it was hard to keep himself from stopping by the house and checking in on her.

  He just didn’t think it would matter. He didn’t think there was anything he could say or do to convince her to give him another chance. He was used to people hating him for what he had done. Why would Dove be any different?

  “I’m sorry, man. I wish it had turned out better for you. I really do,” Luka said.

  “S’alright. I just gotta figure out what I’m gonna do for a job when she sells the horses.”

  The two of them continued to talk while he put the groceries away. As Luka was walking out the door, he promised he’d help him find a job. Burley didn’t have a lot of faith in that. He didn’t think there was anyone in town that would be willing to give him some work. He appreciated Luka offering to help, though. He felt lucky to have such a good friend. After losing Dove, Luka and BD were pretty much all he had left in the world.

  An hour passed after Luka left, and to keep himself busy, Burley went outside to rake up some of the neverending fall leaves in his yard. He had a large pile started when an unfamiliar truck pulled into his driveway. He didn’t recognize the truck, but he did recognize the three men inside it.

  It was Earl Smitt, Bryon Matheson and Terrence Harvey. Burley had went to school with the three of them. He had never liked Earl. Never got along with him, even back then. The two of them always butted heads. Bryon and Terrence, though, had once been his friends. Maybe not good friends, but they got along. Now, however, he instantly knew they had come to start trouble.

  Burley gripped the rake in his hands and watched the three men pour out of the truck. He glanced at his house, and suddenly felt thankful that BD had stayed inside. He didn’t want his dog to get in the middle of this. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to his best friend and companion.

  “Hey there, Burley. It’s been a while,” Earl sneered. He led the way with the other two men trailing behind him.

  “Earl, I don’t want any trouble. Just turn around and leave,” Burley warned.

  “Who said we came to start trouble?” Earl said.

  “Yeah, we were just checkin’ in on the local child murderer,” Bryon added.

  Burley frowned. He didn’t back away from the men. He stood his ground. His fingers tightened further around the rake, painting his knuckles white.

  “We heard old Bennett’s granddaughter moved in next door. We came here to make sure you didn’t get any ideas. Never know what might be next on your agenda. You killed a boy, maybe next you wanna move on to rape.” Earl came to a stop in front of Burley, while the other two came up on either side of him.

  Burley’s jaw tightened. Anger bubbled inside of him at Earl’s accusation. “I would never lay a finger on Dove.”

  “You expect us to believe that? We saw you in town with her,” Terrence said.

  “Yeah, who knows what sick ideas you have going on inside that fucked up head of yours,” Bryon added.

  “It was us, by the way,” Earl said. “We did that to your truck. Was hoping it would be enough for you to realize you aren’t wanted here. It’s unfortunate for you that you’re just too damn dumb to get the hint.”

  “Get off my property.” Burley spoke through clenched teeth. His face was red with anger, and his eyes narrowed at Earl.

  “You gonna make us?” Earl challenged him.

  “If I have to,” Burley replied.

  “I don’t think you have the balls.” Earl leaned in close, getting right in Burley’s face. Barking could be heard from inside his house. Apparently BD realized something was wrong.

  Burley could hardly think about his dog right now. He was seeing red. He knew what would happen if he hit first. He knew that’s exactly what Earl wanted him to do. But it was very hard to hold back. These men came in, throwing accusations at him, admitting to being the ones that trashed his truck. He wanted to hurt them. He wanted to punch Earl in his smug face.

  “That’s what I thought,” Earl laughed. “You flattened that little boy like a pancake. Bet you didn’t even look back. But when someone gets in your face about it, you aren’t so tough then, are you? You just tuck your tail between your legs and cower.”

  That was it. Burley couldn’t take it any longer. He swung the rake and hit Earl right in the forehead. The action caught all of the men by surprise. Earl stumbled backwards, and Bryon and Terrence stood there, slack-jawed.

  “Get the fuck off my property!” Burley roared. That was enough to snap them out of their stupor, and Burley quickly realized he had made a mistake.

  The two men came at him, fists swinging. Burley swung the rake at Terrence, but he was caught around the neck by Bryon. Earl recovered from his hit with the rake. A streak of blood dripped down his forehead. He yanked the rake from Burley’s hands and tossed it aside. It was three against one, and as big and tough as Burley was, he didn’t stand a chance against them.

  Bryon held Burley back, while Earl and Terrence pelted him with their fists. Soon enough, Burley was on the ground being kicked in the stomach. Earl gripped him by his flannel shirt and rolled him onto his back. He straddled him and began punching Burley repeatedly in the face.

  Burley’s entire body was throbbing with pain. The copper taste of blood was in his mouth. He attempted to block the hits with his arms, but deep down, he was thinking, maybe this was it. Maybe this was how it was going to end for him. Maybe this was how he deserved to die for taking that little boy’s life...

  19

  Dove

  Dove couldn’t get the will off her mind. As she worked on the house, as she ate her meals, as she showered, as she lay in bed at night, the thoughts rolled through her mind. Round and round she went, weighing her options, debating what she should do.

  The thought of all the money she wasted on this trip, of going home empty-handed, made her sick to her stomach. As if she wasn’t already feeling sick enough from her heartbreak. She felt miserable. Everything was going wrong.

  She wanted to tear that will up into tiny little pieces. Nobody would ever know. Except her grandpa would know. God would know. Could she really disrespect her grandfather’s final wish? She had already let him down in life, so did she really want to do it again after his death?

  The
re was one thing she just couldn’t understand. Why did he leave everything to Burley?

  She thought maybe he hired him because of the convenience. Burley was right there, and clearly he was reliable with the horses. But there was a huge difference in hiring someone as an extra hand and leaving literally everything you owned to someone.

  So, why did he do it? Did her grandpa know what Burley had done? Did he know and forgive him for it?

  It was that question eating at her the most today. She sat at her table, poking at her lunch, barely able to stomach anything. Then she heard what sounded like a commotion outside.

  She got up and took a look out the living room window, which faced Burley’s house. There was a truck there she didn’t recognize. She knew some guy came every Thursday to drop off groceries, but that wasn’t his truck. That was strange because literally nobody else ever visited.

  She could see some men in the yard. Strangers. What were they doing? What was that...?

  “Oh my gosh,” she gasped when she realized what she was seeing. Her heart jolted in her chest. It looked like those men had Burley on the ground!

  Without even thinking, Dove bolted for her front door. She ran from her house over toward his.

  “Hey! Stop!” she shrieked as she raced over. It probably wasn’t smart. Those men had overpowered Burley. There was no way she could physically stop them if they wanted to come at her. But this was a matter of the heart over the brain. Burley needed help, serious help, and that drove her to action.

  “Now you stay back, okay?” one of the men said. He stepped away from the others to come toward her, hand out, trying to stop her from going closer. The other man was looking at her too, but the third one was still punching Burley. Dove shoved past the one trying to stop her.

  “Get the fuck off him! What are you doing?!” she nearly screamed, her voice in a panic. Burley’s face was covered in blood.

  Fearless for her own safety, her heart racing, she moved to shove that third man away from Burley. She managed to give him a push, before one of the others grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.

  “Let go of me! I’m gonna call the police!” she shouted as she struggled to get free.

  The three men looked at each other, as if debating what they should do. Dove jabbed an elbow right into the ribs of the one holding her, making him grunt as he released her. She rushed again at the one knelt over Burley, shoving at him and smacking him over his head.

  “Damn it! Stop, ya crazy woman!” the man said, stumbling to his feet and moving away from her.

  “LEAVE!” Dove screamed now, “I’m seriously calling the police!”

  She would’ve done it right on the spot, except she ran out of the house so fast she didn’t get her phone.

  “Com’on, Earl, let’s just get out of here,” one of the other two said. Earl, the one that had been punching on Burley, looked at her with a glare. He hesitated, then spit on the ground in Burley’s direction.

  “You remember what we said, Burley! Don’t make us have to come back here,” Earl snarled, then he waved his hand at his boys and the three of them retreated to their truck.

  Dove dropped to her knees beside Burley. Was he breathing?! He looked awful! But then he groaned and she knew, thank God, he was still alive.

  She heard the truck roar to life but she didn’t turn to watch them leave.

  “Oh, Burley. Oh my gosh. I’m gonna call 9-1-1,” she said to him. Her hand was trembling as she touched it gently to the side of his head.

  “No..." he groaned. “No police. I’ll be... be fine.”

  “What?! You’re not fine! And those men need to be arrested for this!”

  “Dove... just help me up.”

  He held his hand out. Dove stared at him. She knew in that moment, without a doubt, that she loved him. Despite everything that she knew, her heart still broke for him as she saw him in this beaten state. It physically hurt to see him this way.

  She took his hand and did what he wanted. He wasn’t as bad off as she had initially feared. He was able to walk. She helped him, with an arm around his waist, and took him into his house.

  BD was at the door, still barking, and he sniffed over his master in a very concerned way as they went in. Dove helped Burley into a kitchen chair. She immediately wet a wash cloth to start cleaning him up.

  “We really should call the police,” she said again. Her face was locked with concern. Burley let out a sigh and didn’t meet her eyes.

  “You don’t understand. The police don’t give a damn about me. They come out here, they’ll probably spin it like I was the one at fault,” he said with a frown.

  Dove was gently wiping away from the blood from his face. What he said reminded her of what he had done... and how she wasn’t supposed to be caring about him anymore.

  “What were those men even doing out here?” she asked quietly.

  “They was the ones who wrecked my truck. They want to drive me out of town.”

  Dove could hear the anger buried in his voice. She felt conflicting things. Her sympathy for him warred against her disgust of his past. How was she even supposed to feel?

  “This isn’t right...” she decided. “They could’ve killed you today. How are you so sure the police won’t do anything?”

  “I know ‘cause I used to be one of them,” he said. Dove’s eyebrows arched high in surprise. Did she hear that right?

  “What? You were a cop?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Yeah,” he said simply. Dove stared at him as if she was seeing him in a new light. He was so confusing. The strong and caring man she knew before, he fit a uniformed man of the law, but not the man who killed a child. It was like the puzzle pieces she had weren’t fitting together properly. Something was missing.

  “Then why did you...” Dove trailed off, stopping her words before her thought could complete out loud. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go down that road.

  Burley finally lifted his eyes to meet hers.

  “Why did I what?” He paused. “Kill that boy?”

  Dove felt her cheeks flush and she looked away.

  “We don’t have to talk about it,” she said quickly. She turned from him, going to the sink to rinse out the wash cloth. She didn’t know if she was prepared to hear the details of what happened. Her heart couldn’t handle any more darkness splattered onto the image she had of him in her mind.

  “Dove,” he said behind her. She paused there at the sink, tempted to ignore him. He waited for her to look at him, but when she didn’t, he continued anyway.

  “You have to know... It was an accident.”

  20

  Burley

  “An accident...?” Dove was looking at him now, and Burley gave a slow nod of his head. His head was pounding. Just that gentle action sent a wave of pain coursing through his temple. It was enough to cause him to wince. He looked away from her.

  “I was workin’ that day, and I got a call. There was a domestic dispute on Elm Street. Jim Epperson was always getting drunk and beatin’ up on his wife Tracey. I was on my way there when it happened,” he explained solemnly. The memory of that day was never easy to talk about. “I-I didn’t put on my sirens. I was on Naple Street. It would only take me about five minutes to get there. I was drivin’ a little fast, and my phone chimed. I ignored it at first but it just kept goin’. I looked away for a second to pick it up and... there was this thump. You know, when you hit somethin’...”

  “Oh no...” Dove said quietly. She spoke with a mix of sympathy and sadness as the pieces of the puzzle finally came together.

  “He had been playin’ on the sidewalk. I guess one of his toys went in the road. I didn’t see ‘em. I stopped my car as soon as I felt it hit somethin’. I was worried it was a dog. Now, I wish it had been.”

  Dove came over to him, but he still couldn’t bring himself to look at her. Guilt and shame washed over him in one huge tidal wave. It was taking every ounce of strength he had not to start crying.
>
  “He was lodged under the front of my car. I pulled him out. He was still breathing, but there was so much blood... His momma came runnin’ over, and I called an ambulance. He lived for about four days. He just couldn’t keep fightin’. He was too badly injured.”

  “Oh my gosh, Burley... I’m so sorry.” Dove’s arms went around him. He felt her hand gently on the back of his head. He closed his eyes tight, finding comfort in her embrace. It was a relief that she was sticking by him instead of running out the door.

  “I never shoulda took my eyes off the road. He’s dead ‘cause of me... I didn’t mean to do it. I swear, I’d gladly let God take me, just so that little boy could be alive again. So many times, I wished it was me instead...” Burley couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. He wrapped his arms around Dove’s thin waist and pressed his face to her chest. Her fingers gently slipped through his long hair. It was an affectionate gesture that brought him comfort.

  “I don’t blame you, if you wanna hate me... I just wanted you to know the truth.”

  “I don’t hate you, Burley. I could never hate you. It was an accident. An awful, terrible accident. It could have happened to anyone,” Dove said softly.

  “No, it’s my fault. I looked away. All ‘cause of that damn cell phone... He’s-he’s dead ‘cause I couldn’t ignore my phone,” he replied, his voice breaking and full of anguish.

  “Shh,” Dove whispered. He felt her lips on the top of his head. “Everyone makes mistakes. I’ve texted while I was driving before. That doesn’t make you a bad person.”

  “Killin’ that boy makes me a bad person, Dove. I’m a monster, just like everyone says I am. I-I deserve to be dead...”

  “What? No, no, don’t say that,” Dove said quickly. He felt her lean back, and her hands went to the sides of his face. He still couldn’t look her in the eye. Not even when she leaned in close.

  “Burley... Look at me.”

  Burley sniffled and shook his head slightly.

  “Please...”

  With that pleading word, he complied. His brown eyes lifted slowly to meet her blue ones. They were red and puffy from crying. On top of his guilt and sorrow, he felt embarrassed. She wasn’t supposed to see him like this. He was supposed to be tough and strong. Men weren’t supposed to cry. At least that’s what his daddy had always taught him.