Page 295 of Satan's Spawn
“Okay? So stop being so weird and doom gloom about it!” I chuckle and turn to walk back over to the bench, but Crayton hooks an arm around my waist to stop me.
“I have to—” He attempts to say something but Micah doesn’t give him the chance.
“Alright, so, good news.” He approaches, looking through his briefcase. “It most likely won’t be the five.”
I step out of Crayton’s hold, eyebrows squished together. “The five what? Besides brownie points for the times that I’ve been right?”
Micah looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “His sentence?”
Those two words have my blood running dry, making the room suddenly spin and my heart stop beating. “But he was found not guilty,” I say, confused as I look up at Crayton, who looks nothing shy of the word. “You said…”
“That I’m not a murderer.”
“Exactly.”
From the corner of my eye I can see Micah taking steps back to give us space. Then Cillian’s look of defeat next to him. Which is when reality sets in.
Crayton’s going away.
“Rebecca…”
“No.” I swivel my head back and forth. “Don’t you dare say it.” My eyes squeeze closed. “Don’t you dare say you’re leaving.”
“You know I won’t lie to you.”
“But you were found not guilty!” I cry out.
“For the murder, yes, but I plead guilty to Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.”
My legs give out from under me, making me fall to my knees. “Why, Crayton? Why would you do that?”
Crayton drops to his right after and frames my face with shaky hands. “It was the least risky option, Rebecca. We gained a lot of leverage, yes. But I still could’ve been found guilty of his murder.” He lets out an exhausted breath. “So when the D.A. brought the option to the table, I ran with it.”
Sobs rip from my throat, leaving my shoulders shaking.
Crayton brings my head to his chest. “It’s gonna be okay, Little Ghost.”
“Oh, sonowyou decide to play the optimist?”
“No…the realist. And we both know I deserve to be punished for my actions.”
“But you’re fucking innocent.”
He lifts my chin with his hand. “You know more than anyone that’s not true.”
“I don’t care about the other shit you did.” With a sad whimper, I continue on to say, “I only care about you.”
“I know you don’t.” He kisses my tear stained cheek. “Which is why I’m asking you please do not give up on me. Regardless of the bullshit I spewed in the past about moving on. I need to know you’ll be waiting for me when I get out.” There’s a pregnant pause before he adds, “It’s the only way I survive this.”
The answer to his question comes out as naturally as breathing. “Of course I’ll be here, you know that.” I wrap my arms around his neck. “I just don’t want you to go.”
“Neither do I, Rebecca, but the other road I could’ve gone down was a lot worse. We’d lose each other for good.”
I pinch my eyes closed, unable to even think about the possibility. “What will I do without you for five years?”
When the world reappears, so does Micah’s shoes on the floor behind Crayton. “Don’t worry, Rebecca. If the pain in the ass here behaves himself, I can get him out in two.”
“So, in other words, we’re fucked.” My sad chuckle has Crayton pull away to swipe the tears under my eyes.
