Page 66 of Secret
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
He was going crazy. Days of watching the driveway, waiting to see the police pull up had him on edge. He couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. He couldn't do anything but sit and stare.
He'd tried watching TV, catching up on all the movies he'd always wanted to see but never had, thinking it would be his last chance to enjoy them, but his attention wandered, his mind going over everything that had happened.
Why hadn't Noam come for him or at least sent someone to get him? Maybe this was part of the torture he deserved for what he did to Noam. Not to the pedophiles, he didn't deserve anything for what he did to them. No, the one person he'd hurt with his actions was the one person he never wanted to hurt. Noam was the one he'd destroyed.
He didn't think for a minute that Noam was weak and would let this destroy his life, but he'd seen the hurt and pain in Noam's eyes when he'd left his house. He'd hurt him badly, and there was no way to make that okay. No 'I'm sorry', or 'I won't do it again' would take it away.
He turned off the TV and got up, going into the kitchen to grab something to drink. He should probably eat, but just the thought of food had his stomach rolling.
The sudden sound of his doorbell had him nearly sick anyway. This was it. Noam had finally come for him.
He took a deep breath and tried to put on a brave face, though he probably looked as if he was walking to his own execution. When he glanced out the front window, he was shocked to see Matt's car out front and not a police vehicle or Noam's car.
He quickly opened the door, shocked when Faith threw herself into his arms. "Dad said you needed a hug." She pressed her body tightly against his, her arms squeezing him.
Tears came to his eyes as he held her, hugging her as he'd never hugged anyone before. For a few seconds she was his lifeline, exactly what he needed to continue to hold on. "Stripes," he breathed her nickname.
Matt stood behind her, smiling as he watched them. "We thought you could use a friend."
As Faith let go, Kasey stepped back. "It's not safe."
"Sure, it is. It's no secret now that you had a part in bringing Faith home. Noam already knows you're friends with me and her. There are no ties to anything else. We aren't going to alert them to anything by visiting." Matt placed a hand on Faith's shoulder. "You going to invite us in?"
Kasey nodded, stepping back so they could come in. It was no secret to Faith that the team had been the ones to save her, even though it had been the police who literally pulled her out of the house. She knew what the team did, but not the details or how. She knew they found the bad guys and made sure they went to prison. He wondered how much Matt and Xander had told her about his situation.
"You shouldn't have come over." Kasey shut the door and followed them into the living room.
"Why not?" Faith asked.
Matt raised a brow as if daring Kasey to answer Faith.
"Don't get me wrong, it's good to see you. You know I'm always happy when you visit, Faith, but I've been in a bit of a bad mood and sometimes when that happens it's better to be left alone."
She rolled her eyes. "If I was in a bad mood you'd all show up to cheer me up." Faith flopped down on the couch. "Xander says the thing about moods is they never stay the same. They change fast, so don't let one mood get you down, just wait for it to change."
If only it was that easy. He sat down beside her. "Seeing you helps." He smiled. "What have you guys been up to?"
"We just went over and signed her up for a class at that trampoline place you introduced her to." Matt narrowed his eyes at him.
"That's great. I can't wait to see how good you get. Maybe you'll learn to do flips like that one guy we saw." He ignored Matt's glare.
"They have a bunch of classes I can take. They even perform and compete if you're good enough." Faith looked excited.
"Then you better practice hard." Kasey tried to smile as he realized he'd never be able to see her compete if she did. He might get lucky and hear about it in letters, but after today, he would probably never see Faith again. He did not want her walking into a prison to visit him.
"How are you holding up?" Matt asked.
"As good as can be expected. I feel like I'm sitting on a bomb waiting for it to explode, but I don't know when the timer will run out." He fisted his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry. I know this affects all of you."
"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. We missed a camera. It was bound to happen, unfortunately it was you and you were seen by the man you date. It wasn't like you went out intending to have this happen."
Faith listened, watching them closely, but didn't ask any questions, which Kasey was glad about. He didn't want to try and explain it to her. She was old enough now, she would get the whole story soon enough.
"What's everyone doing with the sudden time off?" Kasey asked.
"Xander and Dyson are the only two not working. The rest of us are still doing our jobs. "Xander and Dyson have been helping Faith repaint her room. The stripes are now gone, replaced with a light blue with yellow trim. Faith found the idea online and wanted to try it." Matt smiled at his daughter.
