Ruined (18 page)

We ride up to the eighth floor and get off when the doors open up to a nice office. I walk up to the mahogany front desk with Emmy trailing behind me.

"We're here to see Mr. Reynolds." The lady smiles and nods and then buzzes his office. A few moments later, she leads us down a hallway and into a room with a big conference table. We wait as I tap my fingers on the glass top table nervously.

"Calm down," the normally energetic and spastic Emmy says. If she's telling me to calm down, I must be really keyed up.

A few moments later, a tall man with a receding hairline comes into the room. He opens the door slowly and stands there for a moment like he's trying to decide if he wants to come in or not. His face has no expression, but then he finally smiles slightly and holds out his hand. I stand up and shake his hand and then quickly sit back down in my seat.

Emmy works on setting up the camera and tripod, and I am super thankful that she got some audio visual training in high school. She seems to know what she's doing, at least enough to get the footage I'm going to need.

Mr Reynolds sits down at the end of the table and looks at me. "Did you have a nice drive?"

"Yes, sir. Traffic wasn't all that bad," I say.

"Please, call me David."

"Alright. David." He nods and smiles as we wait for Emmy to hook up his microphone. She does, and we begin our conversation.

"First of all, thanks for agreeing to meet with me," I say before Emmy hits the record button.

"It was time, Willow. I haven't spoken publicly about this in years."

"I can understand. It must be very painful," I say as I see the red light turn on on the camera.

"It is hard. Some days are harder than others, of course. Aimee's birthday is hard. The date of the accident is hard. Our anniversary. Christmas. Tallie and Madison's birthdays."

"Tell me about Aimee."

"Oh, she was a wonderful wife and mother. We met when I was working security at a concert in Piedmont Park. She was beautiful with her long red hair and porcelain skin. I couldn't believe she had any interest in me, but she did. We fell in love quickly and got married six months later." He smiles at the memories, and I feel sorry for him.

"And your girls?"

"Tallie was two at the time of the accident. She was a bundle of energy, that one. She had her mother's red hair, but she had my eyes. She was the perfect mixture of the two of us. And Madison was three and a half. She had just started preschool and loved to draw. I remember how she loved to draw the sunshine, and she was a ray of light in everyone's lives that she met," he says wiping a tear from his eye.

"They sound like amazing people. I'm so sorry for your loss." He nods to acknowledge me, but takes a moment to gather himself as he reaches for a tissue. "Tell me about the accident, if you would."

"It's hard to talk about. Very hard. We had just spent a week together at the beach for vacation. Those are some wonderful memories. I was working as a beat cop at the time, so I had to meet them there since I was working late on the first day of vacation. That meant I had to follow them home. We were coming down the road about three miles from home when this car up ahead seemed to be veering into our lane. I guess Aimee just didn't see him in time because she never moved. I ran off the road, but she didn't. She just kept driving. It was dark, and maybe she was tired herself? I don't know. But the other car ran directly into her and the girls. I saw the whole thing, and I ran so fast to the car. I couldn't save them..." he says with a sob. I want to reach out, help him in some way, but there's nothing I can do. I wait for him to gather himself. "It was a carload of boys. The driver had a cut to his head, I think. He was sitting on the sidewalk sobbing and rocking. Another two boys were okay and they were calling for the ambulance. I think another boy flew out of the car and was hurt badly."

"David, you know that this story I'm doing is on forgiveness. And I was surprised when I called you that you said you do forgive the driver, Kellan Avery. How is that possible?"

"I'm a man of faith, for one thing, and I believe that holding a grudge is like poison. I was very angry for months after the accident, so I took some time off of my job and did volunteer work. It helped me focus on others instead of myself. I realized early on that the driver was just a seventeen year old kid who made the worst mistake of his life. No anger I felt toward him was going to bring back my family, and I knew he was probably punishing himself more than I ever could. Once I let the anger go and decided to let God handle it, the pain started to get bearable. I think about my wife and kids every single day, and I cry sometimes, but I can't get lost in that. It's hard to climb out if you really let yourself go."

"What is your life like now?"

He smiles, and that makes me feel better. "Well, I left the police force when I got back from doing my volunteer work. I just couldn't handle the thought of seeing another car accident. I opened this private investigation agency, and as you can see, we're doing quite well," he says pointing around. "About two years ago, I met a woman named Heather Wilkins at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving event I was volunteering at. She lost her teenage son in an accident only he was the driver. We became friends and then more than that. We were married eleven months ago. She just gave birth to our son, Jacob, four weeks ago," he says pulling out his phone and holding up a picture. His smile is bright and wide.

"Congratulations," I say leaning in to look at the photo. "He is adorable!"

"Yes, he is..." he says smiling down at the picture before putting his phone back in his pocket. "And he'll know about the sisters he lost, and the brother, to drunk driving. It's all we can do. We have to use these tragedies as teaching tools for the next generation."

"One final question, David. If you could talk to Kellan Avery, what would you say to him after all these years?"

"Well, the first thing I'd say is that he needs to forgive himself because I have. I loved my family, and I still do. And nothing is ever going to bring them back. I hold their memories in my mind and heart every single day, but they aren't coming back. I would tell Kellan to use his life and use it well. Tell his story and warn other teens not to take the same path. Be a good person, allow love to come in and give of yourself. Let go of anger. Love others. Be a light in the darkness for those who need it. And, above all else, love yourself because God put you here for a reason." He's looking directly into the camera now, and I know that Kellan will feel like he is there talking to him face to face.

"Thank you so much for taking your time today," I say and Emmy turns off the camera. I can see her wiping tears from her eyes, and she leaves the room to dry them in the bathroom down the hall.

David starts to walk toward the door, but he turns around like he has something to say. "Willow?"

"Yes?"

"You know Kellan, right?" I didn't tell him that, but he's figured it out.

"I just met him when he was released. He's my new step brother," I say quietly. "But I am a reporter at DCTV and I am doing a story on forgiveness..."

"It's okay. I'm not mad," he says waving his hand and laughing. "Do me a favor, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Tell Kellan that if he ever wants to sit down in person, I am more than willing. I tried to write him in prison once, but it was returned."

"I'll tell him. You don't know how much this will mean to him. He has no idea I'm here right now."

"You're a good friend," he says before waving and walking out the door. God, I sure hope I did the right thing.

***

Reed sits there, staring at the screen with his mouth hanging open. "You did this?" He's just come back from taking care of his brother, and all seems well for right now. Evan is in a rehab type of clinic getting the help he needs, and their father is doing damage control trying to keep the whole thing quiet.

"Yeah. Is it okay? I probably shouldn't have taken the equipment without asking. I didn't even fill out the little sign out sheet up front. Crap. Sorry. We were only gone for a day, and I recharged those batteries..." I blabber on and on. Reed finally puts his hand over my mouth.

"Willow. Shut up. It's amazing. You're amazing." He puts his hand on my cheek and stares into my eyes with his dazzling blue ones. I take in a deep breath and then move his hand. I can see him slump a bit with a dejected look in his eyes.

"You really think so?"

"You did good. You really did. And we might have to recruit Emmy. She did good too."

"I'll tell her," I say grinning.

"We have to run this. The deans will be so impressed. You weren't scared to go after such an emotional story?"

"Of course I was, but Kellan needs this." Reed looks aggravated for a moment and then he turns his head.

"So this was about helping Kellan?" he asks turning back.

"A little. The rest was about impressing you," I say honestly. He looks at my lips which makes me incredibly uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time.

"What are we doing here, Willow?" he asks softly turning in his chair to face me.

"Watching video?"

"You know what I mean."

"I've already told you, Reed. We're doing nothing. We're friends and that's all it can ever be."

"You're one confusing woman." I smile and punch his arm lightly. "So, when can I run this?"

"Not yet. I need to let Kellan see it."

"And when will that be?"

"Just give me a little time to find the right moment, okay?"

"Okay. I did want to talk to you about something else, though. Remember me telling you about that broadcasting convention in Rhode Island that I'm going to next weekend?"

"Yeah. You and Professor Demorley, right?"

"Yes, but he's had a conflict now and can't go. I need a second person to cover all the seminars. Will you come with me? Please?"

"Reed, if this is a ploy..."

"Willow, seriously. You know how much my career means to me. I wouldn't trick you into something. I understand that no means no," he says with a crooked smile. "Plus, you'll make some great contacts and learn a lot. This convention is a big one." He stares at me for a moment and I finally nod in agreement.

"On one condition. We will have our own rooms, right?"

"Of course."

"Then, I'll go. Are we flying?"

"Actually, no. The college wouldn't pay for the airline tickets and the convention admittance, so we're driving up. It'll take about fourteen hours without stops, so we need to plan for a day of travel. You up to that?"

"Well, I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"It'll be an adventure..."

"Fine, but you have no idea how irritating I can be on a car trip. When my mother and I drove from Seattle, she said she wanted to push me out of the car once or twice." His face registers this new information. Seattle. Crap. I just told him a little tidbit I didn't want to tell.

"I'm sure we'll do fine," he says with a laugh before we head to the door. As we part ways near the beach path, Reed calls to me. "Hey, Willow..."

"Yeah?" I say turning around as I shield my eyes from the sun.

"Thanks for being there while I went to take care of my brother."

"Anytime," I say smiling.

"And Willow?"

"Yes..."

"I lied about something before. I have tricked you before." He kicks at the sand, looking down at his shoe.