“Are you okay, love?” He asks me, his hands moving over my body as he checks me for injuries.
“I’m fine. Now,” I amend, and his hands go to my face.
“Who hit you?” He asks, murder clear in his eyes.
“Richard. You already took care of him,” I say when I notice the gun hanging over his shoulder.
“We can clean up here,” Graham says, and he nods at me. “You alright, Anise?”
“I’m fine.”
Whit carries me outside, and I’m surprised to see all our friends waiting.
“Anise!” Grier calls, and she sprints toward me. “We were all so worried.”
“I’m okay,” I promise her, wrapping my arms around her.
I greet Mabel next, and she hugs me tight. Rory, Magnolia, Snow, Tilly, and Myra are right behind her, and by the time I’m done promising all of them that I’m really alright, my mom has come out of the motel room, and the cops are pulling up.
“Are you going to get into trouble?” I ask Whit, clinging to him.
“No, it will be alright. I promise.”
“How?” I ask and he smiles down at me, trying to reassure me.
“They kidnapped you, Anise. They hurt you. It will be self-defense. I know the Sherriff down here. We served together. It will all be okay.”
I relax a little at his words but I still cling to him. The sirens cut off, and I plant myself next to Whit’s side as the police officers climb out. It takes us three hours to give our statements and for the EMTs to check my mother and me out. By the time we get the all-clear to leave, I’m exhausted.
“Where will you go?” I ask my mom as we stand awkwardly next to each other.
“Back to the church.”
“Really?” I ask, surprised.
“I need to tell them about Richard and pack up my things. The church was failing anyway. More and more people have been leaving. Your brothers… they were talking about staging a coupe. They were getting sick of Richard ordering them around and thought that they could run things better. Truthfully, I think that they would have just picked up where he left off. They’ve… they’ve changed a lot since you left and not for the better.”
“I’m not surprised,” I say, and I’m not.
My brothers were never nice to me. They always looked down on me and treated me more like a servant or a gnat buzzing around than their sister. I’m not sad to see them dead, especially if they were just going to turn into Richard.
She nods, and I nod back at her. Things are stilted and awkward between us, and I don’t have the energy to deal with this right now.
“Can I maybe… call you sometime?” She asks quietly, and I hesitate.
“Maybe. I just… I need time.”
She nods, tears filling her eyes, but I turn away before they can fall and head over to Whit.
“Everything alright?”
“As alright as it can be.”
“Ready to go home?” He asks, and I nod.
“Thanks for coming for me,” I tell him as we hop into his truck and head back up the mountain.
“I’ll always come for you, Anise,” he promises, and I smile, leaning my head on his shoulder as he takes me back to our home.