The Castle of Gold [Bk 2]

ch.38 Yours

Then he moved back, hopped into his car and left.

***

Danny had the T.V. blasting through the living room. There was a news report about a missing kid.

I nearly dropped my glass of milk when I saw Liam’s graduation picture and his dead body being pulled out of the ground over and over.  Liam’s mom was sobbing into her husband’s shirt as the reporter asked her questions about Liam.

“Oh, Angie” he gasped when he saw me staring at the screen with wide disbelieving eyes. The T.V. really did try to blur and blend the reality. Liam was bruised and broken when I Harry buried him, but the T.V. made him look like one of those bodies in Saving Private Ryan. He looked like a buried hero, a lost treasure being unearthed.

Danny stood in front of the T.V. so that I wouldn’t see anymore.

Then he came over to me and placed his hand at my shoulder.

“Angie, I’m sorry you had to see that” he apologized.

I nodded slowly.

“Me too” I agreed honestly.

Danny wrapped his bulky arms around me and patted my back reassuringly.

“Mr. Payne called and they’re having the funeral procession tomorrow afternoon. I said we’ll be there, but if it’s too much for you right now, you don’t have to go” he told me quietly.

He thought Harry keeping his distance and seeing Liam dead were two contrasting, but powerful variables in one ugly equation, but he didn’t know how horribly related the two were.

I shook my head.

“Of course I can go” I told him.

“You sure?” he asked again.

I nodded. What kind of a coward would I be if I witnessed Liam’s final moments and words and yet not pay my respects to him?

***

I opened the door and saw Becky shaking- eyes watering and nose sniffling.

“Becky?” I asked softly. I was afraid one word might break her even more than she was now.

“I saw the body” she spoke in a broken whisper.

“Oh” I gasped and the air in my lungs collapsed.

“Becky, I-” I tried to comfort her, but the tears slid down her cheeks and she hid her face in her trembling hands.

I led her inside and we sat down on the couch.

“I saw-I saw his face” she explained in horror.

I took her hands in mine to calm her shaking.

“He was- he was black and blue all over- all over!” she raised her voice in hopeless fury.

I nodded painfully as I remembered all too well, flashes of Harry causing those bruises and dents. 

“He was mu-murdered” she gasped and her throat completely closed in.

I rubbed her back as she cried against my shoulder.

“It’s ok, Becky” I reassured her, but I was lying through my teeth.

Nothing was ok. No one was ok. Liam used to be the epitome of “golden”. He was a star lacrosse player, valedictorian, a brown-eyed softie. He of all people broke down. It was just a matter of time before we all lost our gold and turned black and blue like Liam.

“HE’S GONE, ANGIE!” she shouted.

I nodded slowly. I knew she had to get every ounce of fear, anger, frustration, and sadness out now or never. So I let her punch the couch pillow and scrunch my shirt as she cried.

She took a deep breathe.

“Liam was different, Angie. He was the first good guy I ever dated” she shook her head at the warm, passing memories.

I swallowed hard, remembering how sweet Liam was for so many years and how drastically he had changed in order to please me- in the end. I almost wanted to stick the bullet back into my stomach and let it kill me so I wouldn’t feel so guilty about Liam.

“I know” I said slowly.

“He was good to me” she spoke softly.

I held my breath.

“He was golden” she whispered into her lap and then looked up into my eyes.

My throat collapsed and the tears burned down my cheeks.

“I know” I nodded quietly.

Becky held onto me as much as I held onto her and we both sat there and let every ounce of salty water pour from our eyes.

“I’m sorry to barge in like this” she apologized and she wiped away a stray tear with her sleeve.

“No, don’t worry about it” I shook my head quickly.

Becky looked down and nodded.

“What’s that?” she asked as she pointed to the Connecticut letter.

My heart sunk in my chest.

“Oh, nothing” I brushed off. The letter would only remind her of Liam.

“Angie? You got in!” she smiled.

“Yeah” I smiled weakly.

“Liam would have loved to have gone with you” she nodded as she dabbed at her eye.

“He would have” I agreed.

Becky nodded slowly and her lip quivered. I pulled my arm around her and she cried against my shoulder.

“Angie, why did he have to get hurt?” she asked me rhetorically. “He didn’t deserve it.”

I shook my head.

“No one deserves it” I told her and I closed my eyes as Liam’s voice rang through my ears.

“I used to be” he had whispered with his last breath. “Now I’m black and blue…”