Revive Me (31 page)

I ran my hands over her silky tresses. “Because they are and you know what we do with trespassers?”

She looked up at me, her nose wrinkling. “We kill them?”

“Damn straight. Violators will be shot.”

She laughed, burying her head in my chest. “Oh God, that’s cheesy.”

“Really? I thought it was actually pretty original.”

“Don’t quit your day job, babe.” She grinned. If my cheesy ass jokes could get her to crack a smile, I’d be cheesy all damn long. “But you know it was the same way for me. Those girls were trespassers, but I’d suggest you not kill them. I don’t think you’d do well in prison.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m being serious. I slept with other girls, but it’s not like I actually saw them.”

“Then what did you see? Ghosts?”

“No, smart ass. This might make me sound like a huge asshole, but I didn’t see them when I was with him. I’d imagine them being you every single time. Why do you think I never had a serious girlfriend? When my eyes would open and reality would sink in, I’d realize they weren’t you, and I couldn’t give another girl something I couldn’t give you. I couldn’t spend my time with them. Instead, I’d come over here and hang out with you.”

“After you’d had sex with them?” She gave me a dirty look. “You’re really not making a good case for yourself, buddy.”

I laughed. “I should probably shut up now.”

She bent forward and kissed me softly on the lips. “Yeah, you probably should.” I kissed her back, moving my lips to her cheek, and then nuzzling her neck. “I wish we could’ve done this years ago,” she said.

I pulled away, balancing myself with one arm, and looked down at her. “Me too, babe.”

“If Tanner were here right now, I’d go kick him in the balls.”

I laughed. “He was doing it to protect his baby sister.”

“Baby sister? I’m two minutes older than him.” She paused, her face suddenly falling. “Or I was.”

I tapped her nose with my finger. “He would’ve been happy for us.”

“I know. You were the only guy he trusted me with. I bet if you‘d told him you wanted to be with me, he would’ve been okay with it. You might’ve had to take a few punches in the face, but he would’ve accepted it.”

I chuckled. “You’re right. Deep down, I think I knew I was going to, I just thought I had more time.”

“I like how you’re always trying to be the good guy.”

“I try.”

“On that note with you being a good guy, can we watch one of my cheesy shows now? I’m really behind, and my DVR is almost full.”

I threw my head back in fake horror. “I guess,” I tickled her side, and she giggled.

She clicked the TV on and hit a few more buttons. “Here you go,” she said, handing it over to me.

I looked at her dumbfounded. I’d never won this easily with her. Actually, I’d never won the remote over her. “What’s the catch? Is this some kind of test where if the guy doesn’t pick the right movie for his girlfriend he really doesn’t love her?”

“Nope, this is the part where I realize that I don’t always have to be in charge.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Anyways, I think I’ll be a nice girlfriend today, I can’t even believe I’m calling myself that, and let you choose the show. Are you sure the medicine isn’t giving me hallucinations?”

I laughed. “If so, we’re both crazy then. I like the girlfriend version of Tessa.”

“That’s a really low standard if letting you watch shows makes me the best girlfriend ever,” she laughed.

“Oh, that’s just the icing on the cake with you, babe.” I flipped through her DVR list, putting it on her vampire romance to make her happy. If it meant watching bloodsuckers walk the hallways of their high school with my girl, I had no problem with it.

She gave me a bright smile and turned her attention to the TV while staying in my hold. Thirty minutes later, I heard faint snoring coming from beside me. I wrapped my arm around her tightly, rested my head on the pillow, and settled her into my side gently.

“Are you sure you want to come?” I asked Tessa, starting her car and turning the heat on high.

She nodded, rubbing her hands together in front of the warmth flowing through the vents. “I’m sure.” She was going to regret this.

I backed out of the driveway slowly. Snow blanketed trees covered every rooftop, and the roads were icy. I turned on the windshield wipers, watching them squeak back and forth, and disposing of the large, falling flakes.

I talked to my mom last night, and she’d asked me to ride with her, but I’d told her I wanted to drive myself. I wouldn’t be able to face her afterwards. She’d probably leave me on the side of the road stranded to freeze to death.

She stretched the seatbelt across her body and buckled it. “My parents can come with us if you want?”

I cautiously kept my hand on the wheel and my eyes on the road. There weren’t very many cars out, which left the roads clear, with the exception of a few people out shoveling their driveways.

“I appreciate it, babe, but I’m good.” The less witnesses, the better.

“You know everything is going to be okay, right? You need to do what’s best for you.” I nodded but stayed quiet. I appreciated her trying to keep me calm, but my mind was racing. Would I regret what I was about to do? Would my mom hate me forever? “You need to quit trying to make everyone else happy and think of yourself for once. This decision is going to affect your life, too.”

“I’ll never stop trying to make you happy,” I threw back, gradually pressing my foot onto the gas pedal, careful not to give it too much power all at once, and passing a green light.

She grinned widely and slapped her hand against her chest dramatically. “I wasn’t referring to myself, you can keep making me happy all you want. But other people … screw ‘em. If they don’t want to see you happy, then it’s all you and me, babe.”

“It’s you and me,” I repeated, merging onto the interstate and driving at a steady speed. Tessa pulled out her phone from her bag and plugged it into her stereo as soft music began to stream from the speakers. She didn’t turn it up too loud; she just let it float through the air quietly to relax me as I focused on the winter wonderland in front of us.

The snow crunched underneath our boots as Tessa’s glove-covered hand clasped mine tightly. She tightened the scarf around her neck and snuggled into my side as we trudged through the parking lot.

We walked through the double doors and into the hearing room. The first face I saw was hers. I’d been young, but I still recognized his wife from my dad’s sentencing. My mom had drug me to it, and I’d kept my attention on her, watching her tears flow the entire time. When they’d read my dad’s verdict, a woman held her up as she wailed and cursed at the jury. I didn’t blame her. He should’ve gotten more time for his crime.

She was seated on the right side of the room gripping a tissue in her hand as people surrounded her. It didn’t surprise me they were going to fight against his release.

I lead Tessa to the opposite side of the room, and we slid along the bench in the row behind my mom. Her hands were in her lap as she fidgeted with them nervously. I leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek from behind. “Hey Ma,” I said, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

She patted my arms. “Thank you for coming. I’ve been trying to call you all morning.”

I’d stayed at Cody’s last night so I wouldn’t have to talk to her this morning, but her calls started at five. I’d texted her and told her I’d be there. “Sorry, I had my phone on vibrate, and I wanted to keep my eyes on the road,” I replied. “It’s getting bad out.”

She smiled weakly. “That’s okay. You made it here and that’s all that matters.” She glanced over at Tessa and gave her a head-nod, resulting in a friendly wave from her.

“I’ve been praying this works out in your father’s favor,” she said. “If they accept his parole, his lawyer said he’d be home in the next sixty to ninety days, and we’ll have our family back.” I held back the urge to roll my eyes at her excitement. We’d never be a family, but I nodded and kept my mouth shut.

Everyone’s attention went to the side of the room when a door clicked open. My dad’s feet were in shackles with his hands cuffed in front of his stomach as two guards escorted him in. He was wearing the same brown jumpsuit from when I’d visited him. His hair was cut short, the ponytail gone and the goatee shaved from his face. He looked over at us. My mom blew him a kiss, and he nodded a few times as I fought down the bile rising up my throat. God, I wanted her to move on. She’d never be happy with him.

All of us rose from their seat when the parole board walked in. File folders were gripped in their hands and they sat down in the row of seats situated at the front of the room. They looked from my father, to his attorney, and then to the prosecution like they were doing a pre-screening. I counted the bodies. There were seven. An odd number to be sure a final decision was made.

They went through the details of the crime. I sat there quietly and tried to recreate the scenes in my head. They weren’t pretty ones. They talked about how my father went into a bank, demanded money, and then accidently shot the security guard when he tried to disarm him. They’d only give him manslaughter because he didn’t mean for the gun to fire. He never pointed it at the guard, and the trigger pulled as they fought over it. I shook my head in disgust. He’d went into the bank with every intent of robbing it, and he had a gun to be sure nothing got in his way. Sometimes the law let people off the hook too easily. And sometimes they went hard on people who didn’t deserve it. It was fucked up.

The prosecution argued that my dad was a danger to society. He had a long rap sheet of convictions and incarcerations. He’d been in and out of prison throughout his life … throughout my life. I hardly knew him, and I owed him no sympathy. If someone does something that despicable, you have a right to feel like they needed to deal with the consequences, blood or not. How was I supposed to stick up for this man I hardly knew?

The victim’s family stood up for the chance to argue his release. His wife was the only one who spoke. She talked through sobs about how confused her children still are when they ask where Daddy is. She looked at my dad dead in the eye as she explained how hard it is to pay the bills and had to move in with her parents because she can’t afford a home with only her income.

My dad’s lawyer finally approached the bench and began his argument. He boasted about his good behavior and how he was working hard in the kitchen providing meals to his fellow inmates. He brought up the apology he’d given the family the day of his hearing. He tried his hardest to create a shining halo above his head. My mom was definitely getting her money’s worth. Every thousand of it.

“And would anyone like to speak on behalf of the defendant?” A man seated in the center asked. My mom scurried to her feet. She told the crowd with tears in her eyes about how badly she needed him home, he’d learned his lesson, and she was having her own financial difficulties. She wanted her family back, and I needed a father. She told them about the shooting and how I’d lost my best friend. My loss would be sharpest key to unlock his chains. I tightened my hold on Tessa’s hand while I dug the other into the wooden bench beneath me. She closed her statement by telling the courtroom I’d like to speak, as well.

I slammed my eyes shut and slowly opened them as all eyes fell on me. I hoped she wouldn’t involve me. I hoped seeing my father would cloud her train of thought, and she’d forget about me being in the room. I gulped, rising up from the bench slowly, and walked up to her side. I didn’t touch her. I just opened my mouth and did what I’d been contemplating for months.

“I don’t think my father should be released from prison,” I said. The room up roared with different reactions, most of them shock, and a fresh sob tore from my mom’s chest as she took a step away from me. The victim’s wife collapsed onto the bench as everyone stared at me with open mouths. I pointed to my dad sitting at the table and took a good look at him. His nails bit into his palms as the veins in his neck twitched underneath his skin.

“This man has done nothing but destroy my family and others. If he gets released, that won’t change.” I looked straight into the crowd and at Tessa. Her eyes met mine and she nodded in support. “He’s been released before. He swore up and down he was a changed man. Then he went and robbed a bank. He robbed a bank and killed an innocent man. My mother is right when she says I’ve been going through a lot this past year, and I do need a father. But that man is not a father.”