Where Hearts Might Heal

Chapter 16

"Someone call an ambulance. I must be hallucinating." Someone yelled as soon as I walked into the diner. I laughed.

"Oh stop it." I mumbled. Joe walked around the counter and pulled me into a hug.

"And who is this?" Joe asked looking at Jay then down to our connected hands.

"Uncle Joe, this is Jay, my boyfriend. Jay, this is Jake's dad, Joe." I introduced them.

"Boyfriend?" Joe asked. I smiled as I nodded. "At least you look happy and healthy. Jake told me about you being put in the hospital. How long are you staying? Where are you staying?" I laughed.

"I am happy and healthy. Just tonight. We leave tomorrow. Jake offered to let us use the guest room. You know I had to go see him first." I replied.

"You're usual?" Joe asked. I nodded.

"Jay will just have the same." Joe motioned with his hand for us to shoo.

"Go have a seat. I'll bring it to you." I smiled as I dragged Jay to my usual table.

I ran my fingers over the names carved into the table. Jake had carved his, mine, and Makenna's names into it when we started high school. "Joe's not really your uncle, right?" Jay asked. I looked up at him confused. "You call him Uncle Joe. You introduced him as Jake's dad. You dated Jake." Jay mumbled.

"Oh, no. He was my dad's best friend. He's like the overseer person on the stuff I was left in my dad's will. Like this diner. My dad left it to me in his will. He knew my mom would just sell it, so he put Joe over it until I'm twenty-one." I explained. Jay looked around and nodded. "I'm not going to take it over. It'll stay in my name, but I'm not going to work here. I just don't want to, but I can't sell it either. My dad worked so hard for this place. I just can't sell it." I added. Jay took my hand over the table.

"I have faint memories of coming here before we moved." He whispered. I laughed.

"I basically lived here growing up. I still did up until I left." Jay's grip on my hand tightened.

"Do you miss it here? Would you move back?" He asked. I thought about it. I did miss living here. My life was here. Jake and Joe were here. But Jay wasn't.

"I do miss it, but I wouldn't move back." I replied. He raised an eyebrow at me. "You're not here."

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I stopped in front of the familiar tombstone. I could find my way here with my eyes closed. I ran my finger over my father's name. "I miss you. I miss you so much." I whispered. I looked back as Jay started to step away. "Don't go." I pleaded. He nodded and stepped closer but didn't touch me. My lip quivered as I looked at the two tombstones beside my dad's. "I feel so guilty." I finally admitted. I had never said that to anybody. I'd never even said it out loud.

"About what?" Jay asked. I looked at him.

"This is all my fault. He was after me." I cried. Jay pulled me into a hug.

"It was not your fault. You didn't make the guy do it. You were an innocent six-year-old. You didn't pull the trigger." He whispered.

"It's my fault. I'm the one who just had to get sick that day. I'm the one who had to video everything. I'm the one he was after." I mumbled.

"Baby, listen to me." He ordered, moving me so I had to look at him. "It was not your fault. Your dad hid you. You were an innocent six-year-old having a great time with your dad. You used to carry that camera everywhere. You just wanted to remember the good times. You know they wouldn't want to switch places with you. They were protecting you. Like grandparents do. They wouldn't have wanted you to be there. They wouldn't want you to feel guilty. I'm glad it wasn't you." Jay whispered. I snuggled my head back into his chest as sobs racked my body.