I was outside, standing on the sidewalk, when they brought Vick’s lifeless body down and wheeled her past me. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself and cried when Sebastian’s followed.
“I want to ride with him.” I told the paramedic as they put Sebastian in the ambulance.
The paramedic looked at me funny, but nodded and helped me into the back. Another paramedic got in behind me and closed the doors.
I didn’t know if they were scared of my catatonic like state or what, but they didn’t protest when I crawled onto the gurney with Sebastian and wrapped my arms around him. He was still warm, and his pulse was slow, but at least it was still there.
Epilogue
“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” ~ Flavia Weedn
I stood there staring down at the flawlessly chiseled headstone. I hadn’t been to the grave since the day we put the coffin in the ground. I hadn’t been brave enough and the guilt only made it worse. Guilt for loving the man who’d altered my life so completely in so many ways.
I’d like to think my parents would have forgiven Sebastian, too. He was so young the night they were murdered—only seventeen. And although he’d broken into our house, he never expected for anyone to get killed. Vick was the killer, and now she was dead, too.
Kneeling down, I placed a white rose on the grave and ran my fingers over the rough engraving.
“Roz?” Kyle whispered, coming to stand beside me. He gave me a small smile and then wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
I wiped at the single tear that slid down my cheek. “Hey, kiddo,”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just sad.”
I hadn’t told Kyle about Sebastian’s role in our parent’s murder. I didn’t know if he’d understand why I’d forgiven so easily. All he knew was the person responsible for our parent’s death was finally found and closure was ours.
“I think it’s okay to be sad, as long as you know it’s okay to be happy, too.”
I smiled up at him. “When did you become so smart, kid?”
“I had some help from my big sister.”
“Hey, what about me?”
Kyle pretended to be annoyed as a big hand ruffled his hair, before pulling him into a playful head lock.
“Sebastian,” he groaned. “You messed up my hair.”
Sebastian’s deep laugh was like a soft caress as it wrapped around me. Moving my arm under his, I wrapped it around his waist and pulled him close. He gave me a gentle squeeze and we moved back to give Kyle a little privacy with our parents.
I watched as he put a white rose down next to mine and then whispered something, before getting up and putting his hands in his pockets. There were no tears as he looked up at me, but his eyes glistened.
“I’m going to go wait with Mr. Martin,” Kyle said and then ran toward the car.
“Are you okay?” Sebastian asked into my hair, planting a soft kiss in the strands.
“It’s always hard visiting them, but I needed to do this for Kyle.”
“You both needed this.”
“Thank you for coming,” I said, looking up at him.
“I owe you this, Rosslyn.” He was silent for a second. “I’ve been here before.”
I pulled back. “You have? When?”
“About a year after it happened. I needed to apologize for taking them away from you and Kyle. I visited them once a week, until Vick found out and freaked.”
I didn’t want to talk about Vick, or anything to do with her, so I didn’t respond. We were together. We were both alive. That’s all that mattered.
Sebastian pulled away and took a step forward, kneeling so he could place his rose next to Kyle’s and mine.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Harris. I plan to take care of Rosslyn and Kyle for the rest of my life.”
His declaration brought tears to my eyes. I took his hand as he stood and held it out to me. Pulling me into his arms, I laid my head against his chest, feeling soothed by the sound of his heartbeat.
I moved my fingers along the buttons of his shirt, until I found bare skin, and then the scar of his bullet wound. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to forget what it felt like to almost lose him, focusing on the fact he was still here with me.
“We’re going to be late,” he whispered.
I nodded, letting him pull me toward Mr. Martin and Kyle.
“Jonathon Hale,” the dean called over the microphone.
The closer he got to the name Harris, the more nervous I became.