Kevin Died

25. To Believe or Not To Believe

25. To Believe or Not To Believe

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Jory's words stuck with me and I knew without a doubt that he'd made a good point.

There was a killer out there.

Someone who was still walking around as if they'd gotten off scotch free and didn't have to pay for their crime. Someone who'd killed the guy in Kevin's grave.

I was too focused on making my friends take responsibility for the part they did play, that I hadn't properly taken a moment to digest that fact.

Be that as it may, I wasn't gonna let Jory think this changed anything. He still helped hurt Kevin. That was a fact.

"You're right," I said to Jory. "There is a murderer on the loose."

"I know," Jory said, as if he'd won the argument.

"But that doesn't change much," I said, to which Jory frowned. "You can't change what you did. You can't change the lie that almost killed my brother. You can't change any of that."

"Ricardo—"

"Fuck you, Jory."

Jory scoffed and shook his head. "You're really this blind?"

"Trust me," I said. "I've seen all I need to."

I began walking away from him. Sayora was still standing where we'd left her, a look of confusion etched on her face. I began approaching her as she began to speak.

"Okay," she started. "If you don't tell me what's going on right now, I'm—"

I didn't let her finish her sentence, interrupting her by crushing my lips against hers.

Her surprise lasted only for a moment before she synced her lips with mine, welcoming a kiss that was long overdue. I held her by the waist and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I'd longed for such an embrace, and I could've stayed like this forever.

I forced myself to pull away though, taking deep breaths and willing my now erratically beating heart to slow down.

"What was that for?" She asked me, staring deeply into my eyes.

I smiled at her and sighed. "For not being an awful person."

She gave me a peculiar look. "What does that mean?"

I fully broke the embrace, gently pulling her arms from around me. "There's so much I need to tell you."

"Like what?"

"Everything," I said. "I'll tell you everything. But you need to promise me that you won't tell anyone else."

I needed to tell her. Everything was practically out in the open now anyway. I wasn't going to allow her to be the only person in this mess who didn't actually know what the mess was. I owed her anyway. Telling her couldn't make things any worse.

She nodded. "I promise."

"I'm serious, Say," I said. "What I plan on telling you is serious stuff. I need to know that you have my back."

"Ricky, you're scaring me."

"You wanted to know the truth, right? Why I've been acting so strange?"

"Yes, but—"

"So promise me," I pressed.

She looked at me with reluctance and for a few moments I thought she'd reject the idea. She sighed finally, deciding to agree with my term.