It had been two weeks since the incident had occurred that nearly killed sixteen-year-old Skylar Caldarelli.
He hadn’t been home for a full forty eight hours, and he was already bored. His mother had taken his car keys because she didn’t want him driving around town with a broken leg. She had even gone so far as to take his laptop so he couldn’t keep up with the latest developments on Leena Davidson.
Unbeknownst to her he’d started watching something on television that’s called “the news.” Since he’d started watching it, he saw Leena’s mug shots on the screen almost daily along with the fact that she was being held in the county jail on a $1,000,000 bond for two counts of attempted murder and a $3,000,000 bond for one count of murder: one count for Cami and Skylar and Cami’s unborn child (the murder charge).
Both he and Cami had pressed charges against Leena, and several people had clapped as they were leaving the police station. Residents weren’t shy to voice their opinion on camera. Many couldn’t believe that something like this had happened in their community, but they were glad that she was in jail. The select few who believed that her charges were mediocre asked that their faces not be shown on camera.
There was evidence and witnesses who went against her. Someone had recorded the entire incident on their phone, and it was rapidly approaching one hundred thousand views online. He’d seen the video on the news several times, and it made him angry every time he watched it. It also made him realize that if he hadn’t been there when he was, Kaci may not be alive today. He would do it all over again just to save her.
The worst part of his recovery was that his mother wouldn’t allow him to attend school until she felt he was better which also meant that he wouldn’t be able to see Kaci there. Luckily, she was coming over to visit him today.
He heard footsteps approaching him in the living room and then a pause. “You know, it’s really not good to leave your front door unlocked,” Kaci said while standing near the couch.
“Well,” Skylar began, “I was expecting you.” He slowly rose to a semi-standing position while leaning against the couch for support. He intently watched her as she made her way towards him. She looked more beautiful than he remembered, and he’d only last seen her several days prior to his release from the hospital. Her light blue denim jeans hugged her body just right and the long sleeved coral blouse with lace sleeves was beautiful against her brown skin.
Kaci smiled as she wrapped both arms around his neck. She was so excited to see him. She had missed him terribly.
He inhaled her hair as he held her close to him. He might have lost her if he hadn’t saved her from Leena, and he loved her too much to risk saying good-bye.
She looked up at him while her arms were still around his neck. “By the way, Cami’s here. She’s in the backyard.”
“That’s fine with me. Um, my parents are upstairs in the study.” He didn’t mind Cami coming over as long as he got to spend time with Kaci.
“Cool, but my mom said that I couldn’t come over unless she tagged along.” She could tell by his distorted facial expression that he was in pain, and as if reading her mind, he released her from the embrace and sat down beside her on the couch.
“So,” he began while straightening his good leg onto the couch, “how’s Cami holding up?”
“Not so good,” Kaci replied.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ever since she left the hospital, she hasn’t really been talking to Mom or me.”
“Oh,” he said as he looked at his hands. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks but it’s not your fault.” She wanted to say that it was Leena’s fault but decided not to mention her name. “Cami told me that she saw you at the mall yesterday.”
“I gave her my condolences. She just…looked so sad and kind of sick.”
“She’s sick with grief, and I don’t know what to do that’ll make her feel better.”
“I’m not an expert at these types of things, but she probably just needs time.”
“That’s what my mom said.” He could tell that she was sad, and he didn’t like it. He put his arm around her and gently rubbed her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
It hurt her to know that her big sister was hurting and there was nothing that she could do to fix it. She turned away from him and wiped a tear from her face. But it was too late. He saw it and it broke his heart even more. He hated to see women cry especially one who he had deep feelings for. He tried to pull her close to him but she pushed him away. With both of his hands placed firmly on her shoulders, he could see her face clearly now. There were tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill over.
“No, I’m not okay,” she admitted. “Leena tried to kill me, but instead, she nearly killed you. Then, she attacked my sister and caused her to have a miscarriage…” She rested her back against the soft couch and covered her face with her hands. She once remembered watching a yoga infomercial in which a woman was doing breathing exercises that was supposed to calm her mind and body, and she began to slowly inhale and exhale.
He gently squeezed her shoulders. “She can’t hurt anyone else.”
“Her bond is really cheap,” she said as she took her hands off her face.
He raised an eyebrow. “What’s your point?”
She placed her hands in her lap and stared straight ahead. “Skylar, you know that her parents are wealthy, so she’ll be out in no time.” Her face fell into a frown. “Leena just better hope that I don’t get to her first,” he heard her mumble.
“I doubt that’ll ever happen.”
“What makes you say that?”
This time it was Skylar’s turn to turn away from her.
“Wait. Do you know something?”
He didn’t respond.
“Skylar, please tell me. We’ve been best friends for a long time now so if there’s anything...anything at all, tell me.”
He slowly turned to face her. If his parents knew what he was about to say, he’d be grounded for life. “If I tell you this, you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone.”
Her mind was racing with thoughts about what he was going to tell her. “I promise.”
“Kaci,” he whispered. “I’m serious,” he said, as he squeezed both of her shoulders. “If I tell you, you can’t tell your mom, Cami, or anyone else for that matter.”
“I promise. I won’t tell anyone.”
Chapter 39
Cami's Decision Page 39