"Be strong now because things will get better. It might be stormy now, but it can't rain forever."
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•Rae•
"Kyle, come look at this!" I call out from our bedroom, sitting in front of the computer and staring at the screen.
He walks in and stands behind me, leaning forward so he can be able to read the email I received from Shelley.
"Her wedding's next week on Saturday!" I exclaim in excitement. "And she said everyone from the therapy group will hopefully be there too."
I hear him chuckle and glance up to see him staring at me in amusement. "What."
"Nothing, you're just wayyy too excited for this."
I shake my head and turn towards the computer again. "You can deny it all you want, but I know you wanna see them too."
"It's my first time attending a wedding." He changes the subject, making me roll my eyes in amusement.
"It's my second time," I say getting up from the chair and heading to the living room.
"Was it a family wedding?" he asks as he follows behind me.
"No, it was my friend's sister's," I tell him as we plop down on the couch. "Come to think of it, I've never even met a single relative or anyone who's part of the family. No aunts, uncles, nieces, cousins... nothing."
"Really? No one at all?" he asks me in surprise.
"Yeah..." I frown. "It's weird."
"You never asked your parents about it?"
"I did, and according to what they told me all four of my grandparents passed away when my parents were little. My mom told me she's an only child, and my dad said he's not close with his siblings and that they live in another continent. That's all I know."
I want to ask him about his family too, but I don't want to ruin his mood. We hadn't even talked about his mom after that day he promised me he'd try to make things work between them. I wanted to call her but that would be doing something behind his back which I promised to never do again.
"I have an uncle," he blurts out, and I look at him surprised that he's willingly talking about it. "I met him when I went to the house that day."
"You just met him that day?" I ask, raising my brows. "You've never even seen him?"
He nods. "I didn't know any of my relatives, like you. My parents weren't exactly social people. He seemed cool though. He said he and my mom are half siblings."
"Is he the guy we saw at the funeral?" I ask him.
"Yeah," he says grabbing the remote. He starts flipping through channels and that's my cue to stop asking questions.
My phone suddenly rings, and I immediately know it can't possibly be Jess or Trevor. I spent the whole afternoon with them while Kyle was at work.
I get nervous thinking it could be Kyle's mom, but I look at the name flashing on my screen and realize it's not her.
"It's Peter," I tell him as I stare at the screen. "Something must've happened."
"Pick up," he reminds me.
I pick up and greet Peter, nervously waiting to find out why he called me. But what he informs me makes me feel relieved and anxious at the same time.
Kyle is staring at me in expectation as I hang up and look up at him.
"They arrested the guy," I tell him. "The guy in that video."
He blinks in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah," I breathe out. "But he's not saying anything. They're interrogating him though, and Peter said it's only a matter of time and that they'll make him confess."
"Good." Kyle nods, and I do the same.
I snuggle closer to him, and we remain quiet for a few moments.
"This will all be over soon," Kyle says quietly, kissing my temple.
"I hope so," I whisper, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.
* * *
I wake up to the mouth-watering smell of pancakes, and smile in content. My Monday mornings would've sucked without Kyle, that's for sure.
I stay in bed for a little longer until he comes into the bedroom.
"Hey, you're up," he says in surprise. "I was just gonna wake you up. It's 07:30."
"Give me a few more minutes," I mumble. "Or let's just stay home today."
It's quiet for a moment and I almost think he left me alone. But then I feel the blanket being yanked away from me.
"Get up, get up, get up." Kyle starts tickling me, and I squirm under him.
"Okay, okay, fine!" I grumble, pushing him away.
After laughing at me for a few moments, he tells me breakfast is served and walks out of the room.
"Put it back on the stove, I don't want it to get cold!" I yell, walking into the bathroom for a quick shower.
By the time I finish getting ready and get to the kitchen, it's quarter to eight and Kyle is about to leave.
I kiss him goodbye and devour my breakfast in a hurry before rushing out of the apartment. Even though my thoughts keep drifting to yesterday's call, I try my best to concentrate on my classes.
But then my phone vibrates in the middle of a lesson, making me glance down at it. It's Peter. After anxiously waiting for the class to be over, I call him back as soon as I walk out.
"Sorry for not picking up earlier. I was in class."
"It's fine. I called to let you know that the man has admitted everything and even gave us information about the people who hired him."
"Really?" I ask, my heart thumping in my chest. "Who are they?"
"It's better if you come here so we can talk in person."
"Sure, yeah-- okay. Right now?"
"It's almost lunch time now. Are you busy this afternoon?"
"No, no. I'll be there."
"Good. I'll see you then."
I head home, my heart still beating so hard. I want to know who did this to my parents and why, but at the same time I don't. I feel like I'd be better off not knowing.
Kyle is already there as I walk into our apartment. He glances at me while setting the cup back after drinking some water. "Hey."
"Hey," I reply, heading straight into our bedroom.
I collapse on the bed.
"You okay?"
I look up to see Kyle leaning against the door frame, a concerned frown on his face.
"Yeah... Peter called."
Raising his eyebrows, he steps closer to the bed. "What did he say?"
"He said the guy confessed, so they know who hired him to kill my parents." It still feels painful to say the words 'kill' and 'my parents' in the same sentence even after all this time.
Kyle sits on the bed and stares down at me. "So who is it then?"
"He wouldn't tell me over the phone. So I'll have to go to the police station later."
"Shit." Kyle runs his hand through his hair in frustration. "I wish I could come with you."
I wish he could come with me too, but the last thing I want is for him to lose this job too.
"It's okay. I'm just glad it's over."
He reaches out and caresses my hair as I continue to lie down on my back. "Just call me as soon as you get out of there, okay? I'm gonna be worried."
I sit up to give him a quick kiss. "I will."
No matter what I'm about to find out today, at least I know this nightmare would be over soon. The people who did this to my parents would get what they deserve and I'd go back to living my life in peace. Hanging on to that hope is the only thing I can do now.