Page 37 of Believing in You

“All the details began falling into place. Geoffrey’s girlfriend had lied, saying that he’d been with her in Kenosha during the time of the murder. I still don’t know exactly how they found this out, but Geoffrey had a coat identical to mine.”

“What?”

Harrison nodded. “My coat had been a Christmas present from my mother the year before I got arrested. I had no idea she had also bought the same coat for my brother.”

“Oh. My. God.You’re not saying…”

Nyla’s words trailed off, and Harrison couldn’t seem to speak for a moment.

Seconds ticked by before he said, “When it came out that my mother knew it could’ve been Geoffrey in those photos, and she never said anything, it had been the ultimate betrayal. She had eventually admitted to fearing that it was Geoffrey, but she’d said she couldn’t believe he would do something like that.”

The more Harrison talked, Nyla could feel the tension in his body ratcheting, and though she was glad he was sharing, she hated she had him reliving this horrible time in his life. She kept her head on his chest and gently rubbed her hand in circular motions over his flat stomach.

But when his body started shaking, she bolted upright and found him silently crying.

God…

Not knowing what else to do, she straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, glad that he wrapped his around her too. They both cried. She didn’t know how long they stayed that way, but eventually Harrison kissed the side of her forehead, then loosened his grip on her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I knew talking about this would be hard, but I didn’t know I’d get this emotional.”

Nyla gently gripped his face between her hands, forcing him to look at her. “You have nothing to apologize for. Sweetheart, I am so sorry you had to go through all this. It’s no wonder you want nothing to do with your mother.”

He released a ragged sigh. “I was emotionally destroyed, and it tookyearsto close the gaping hole in my heart.” He chuckled and shook his head. “I can’t believe that just came out of my mouth. Sounds like a damn country song.”

Still holding his face between her hands, Nyla chuckled and caressed his damp cheek with the pad of her thumb. “I thought it sounded poetic.” She kissed him slowly before climbing off his lap and resting her head on his broad shoulder.

After a long hesitation, Harrison continued. “I haven’t talked to Geoffrey since before that day my mother kicked me out of her house. Nor did I attend his trial. I heard he was charged with second-degree murder and is set to serve twenty-five years in prison.

“Supposedly, he hadn’t intended to kill Miss Robinson. He had just planned to rob her. Which isn’t any better. But she surprised him by fighting back, and he accidentally shoved her too hard. She hit her head on the back of the house. Supposedly, he’d lost his job and needed money.”

Nyla closed her eyes, fighting another wave of tears. Senseless. It was like people didn’t value life anymore. Another senseless death.

“Why do you think your mother has been calling?”

“I’m not completely sure. She called me last month on Christmas, which is normal, but she normally doesn’t call this often.”

“Maybe something’s happened. Have you talked to your sister?”

“Yeah, I talked to Piper this morning while you were asleep. We made an agreement years ago that whenever she and I talk, she can’t mention our mother. I know it sounds crazy, but my sister is a peacemaker. If it was left up to her, we’d all be one big happy, yet dysfunctional family living under the same roof. Though she hates what my mother did to me, she can’t abandon her, which I didn’t expect her to.”

Harrison grew quiet, and Nyla waited for him to continue.

“This morning, for the first time, Piper said I should talk to our mother. I didn’t ask why, and she didn’t say. So, I assume something’s going on, but I don’t want to talk to her.

“I know they say forgiveness improves your health and helps reduce stress. Hopefully, I’ll be able to forgive her someday, but I’m not there yet.”

Nyla believed in forgiveness, but what his mother did was unconscionable. If Nyla were Harrison, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to forgive and move on either. But she wanted to do whatever she could to help him get the closure he needed.

“The main two women in my life at that time, the ones who claimed to love me, the ones who I thought I could always count on, let me down.”

Nyla shook her head. Who were these people who hadn’t loved Harrison enough to stand by him? To believe in him? To help him get his freedom? She hoped she never ran into either woman. She might do something crazy like haul off and punch them. Which would make her just as bad as them.

“Veronica’s family own a ton of businesses, one being a local gossip newspaper. After I was released from prison, and my record cleared, they wanted my story. Veronica didn’t work there, but her father pressured her to try to get an exclusive.”

“You gotta be kidding me,” Nyla said, disgust dripping from each word.

“Nope, and I made it clear that I wouldn’t be giving an interview to anyone. For weeks, I was hounded by the media. I couldn’t leave my home, not that I wanted to, but every local network wanted my story.”

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