Page 81 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

“I’m assuming to Kara,” I said hesitantly. I hated that I had to question it, but I knew better than anyone that anything could happen in eighteen months.

Dad laughed. “Of course. That boy will never look at another girl again. They’ve actually been ready for a while, but they wouldn’t dream of doing it without you there. Heck, they wouldn’t even have their damned engagement party without you.”

Something inside my chest warmed. I mean, I didn’t like that they had to put their life on hold for me, but I loved that I hadn’t been excluded from anything. “What about Isaac? What’s he up to?”

Dad rolled his eyes. “Like anyone’s going to be able to hold that boy down. He just did some calendar shoot with the guys from the station for some children’s charity, so now he has more women chasing him than normal.”

I laughed as much as I could without it hurting. Isaac was a fireman, so I could imagine the kind of calendar shoot he was talking about.

“Micah’s still at Oak Ridge Elementary. He’s teaching sixth grade this year. And of course, Eli’s still at college.”

I sighed. I really couldn’t wait to see everyone. “So, what now?”

With a slightly worrying stare, Dad exhaled heavily. “Now,” he said. “You recover. And then you’re off to rehab.”

I closed my eyes in defeat. Damn it. That was going to suck.

Chapter 53

Kaeli

Leaning back against the closed locker door, I pursed my lips and stared out across the green. With the exception of the actual graduation ceremony, I had now officially finished high school. And I wasn’t quite sure what to think.

The last month had been like a blur in my memory. The day after the bust, Mom had been informed Ken hadn’t survived the gunshot wound he’d received when he’d resisted arrest. That night all the names of those involved had been released to the media, and I’d suddenly found myself the topic of gossip wherever I went.

It didn’t particularly bother me. I was just happy Ken was no longer around to terrorize us, but the guys hadn’t agreed with me. I hadn’t known it at the time, but apparently they’d verbally smacked down half the school for talking crap about me, and threatened to beat up anyone who even dared to look my way. It was unnecessary, but I had to admit, it was nice to know they had my back.

I still hadn’t heard anything about Noah. I’d been tempted so many times to march down to either the police station or the hospital and jump up and down until someone told me what had happened to him, but I was scared of revealing him if he was still undercover.

So I did the next best thing. I scoured the internet every night, searching for some sign that would tell me he was alright. The only thing I’d found were reports of ‘Mitch’s’ death, alongside all the others who’d been killed during the raid. I refused to believe they could even be remotely true. He wasn’t ‘Mitch’. He was Noah. He’d told me himself.

All I’d been left with after that were questions, mostly about my own mental state. I needed to know exactly what the hell was going on with me, if my feelings for him only stemmed from the psychological stress I’d been under and the protective role he’d played in helping me through it.

I knew it was stupid of me to think I could feel so much for him after only a couple of months, but if I closed my eyes, I could still feel the clarity of my mind when I’d been lost in the depth of his gaze, the honesty of my emotions when I’d been absorbed deep in his changing expressions, the intense realization of our connection when I’d melted in his embrace, and I just knew what I’d been feeling wasn’t some psychobabble that evolved from traumatic events. It’d been real.

And that was where my problem started. It’d been real for me, but what if it hadn’t been for him? What if he’d just been doing his job? What if I didn’t actually mean anything to him at all?

I knew that if he was still alive, he most probably would’ve been out of hospital by now. So why hadn’t he been to see me? What was keeping him away? The only conclusion I could make, was that I just didn’t mean that much to him. And that hurt.

I’d tried to hide that truth from everyone over the last few weeks, but I mustn’t have been doing a very good job at it because my loyal band of merry maker friends had tried numerous things to pep me up. They’d tried everything from social gatherings at Mia’s house, to us all pairing up at the prom.

It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy myself any of those times. I did. But it was just like when Ken was still around and I'd been worried about my mom. I wasn’t fully present in the moment. A part of me was somewhere else, worrying.

Looking around at the student body as they laughed and chatted, I wondered if I would ever feel fully free like they did. I thought maybe if I knew what had happened to Noah, good or bad, I might be able to get there. Maybe. Of course I knew it would

hurt if I found out he was dead or just didn’t want to be with me, but at least I’d be able to process it and move forward. As it was, I was just living in limbo land. And it kind of sucked.

An arm being slung over my shoulder disrupted my bitter ramblings. “Hey, hey, hey graduate…”

Aiden.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a flirt,” I grumbled.

He frowned at me. “What’s gotten your panties in a twist, tiny?”

“Boys…” I said without pause.

His eyebrows rose with amusement. “Geez. And I thought the mopey mood was bad…”

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