Redeeming the Darkness

Chapter Twenty-One - Ivy

The week leading up to our trip to the Grand Canyon was the most fun I'd had with Zane since our insanely, quick nuptials in Vegas. I received more stolen kisses than I thought possible and Zane's smiles frequented his gorgeous face; I'd finally convinced him to shave his facial hair so I could see his dimples every time. The day before we left, we were sitting in the living room, watching the television he finally purchased after I'd been dropping hints about it for days. I wasn't sure how much more obvious I'd have to get, but one day I woke up and a television had been delivered to our front door and a cable guy showed up and started working on the picture.

"There's nothing on, Ivy," Zane grumbled from beside me.

"You're surfing the sports channels. Of course there isn't anything on!" I exclaimed. I tried grabbing the remote from him for the tenth time but he quickly pulled it out of my reach.

"I don't think so, little girl." He shot me a triumphant smile. I grinned back and batted my eyelashes. "Oh, no you don't. Those stinkin' eyelashes are what got me into this whole mess with the TV. They won't get anything else out of me."

My shoulders sagged as the only hope I had deflated. Times like this made me wish I had my mother's charm or my sister, Kelly's incredible green eyes. That kid could ask our dad for anything when we were growing up and, before anyone knew what was happening, the little weasel got what she asked for.

"Who's a weasel?" Zane asked, and I glanced up at him. His smile told me that I'd said something out loud and I laughed.

"My little sister, Kelly." I answered.

"Is she the one that was flirting with Sandro or the one with red hair?"

"She's the one with red hair. And incredibly beautiful green eyes." I huffed. Zane's shoulders shook with his amusement so I elbowed him as best I could and laughed when I heard his grunt.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as he made his way through more channels that held neither of our interests before he asked more about my family.

"Why did she look so out of it while we were there?" I didn't need to ask who he was talking about because I felt my heart squeeze in response.

"She's gone through a lot, lately," I said.

"Do you want to talk about it or is this something you'd rather me leave alone?" I looked up into his eyes and saw his concern for my feelings on the matter. I trusted him and that was precisely why I decided to tell him part of her story.

"I can tell you about it." I turned my body, sitting with my legs crossed, facing him and began. "When Kelly was a freshman she started dating this boy named Breton. He and his family were new to the area and it was like fate wanted them to meet. Perfectly balanced. They became friends really quickly and I think, like, a month or less into their friendship they started dating."

"Your dad let her date?" Zane interrupted. I couldn't blame him because I'd been shocked, too.

"Yeah, my mom convinced him things would be okay. So, anyway, they started dating and were together for almost two years. They were months away from the end of their junior year when Breton went swimming in the middle of the night, alone, in a lake. Ohio is still really cold in April and the next morning my dad overheard a call on his police scanner, saying that there was a body that had been found at the lake." I paused, trying to control my breathing as I remembered my baby sister's face for the first few days after her best friend's death. It was as if she'd lost her reason for existing and I hated it with all my heart.

"So, that was a while ago, right?" Zane asked, bringing me back.

"Yeah, a little over a year ago."