Leighton"Did you hear about the barn party?" I ask Brooks as we sit in the same room we occupied the first time I came here."Yeah." His voice is devoid of emotion. "It was Dad, wasn't it?"I nod, I can't put it into words. Not here, not now, not when I feel like I'm failing everyone by not being able to put the man who raised me behind bars. That's mostly Holden's doing though, and not mine. He doesn't want me involved, but I don't see how he's going to prevent it."It's not our fault," Brooks' voice is strong in his conviction. "I've done a lot of things that are my fault, and a ton of shit I'm not proud of, but this, Lee Lee, isn't us. It's time Dad takes responsibility for the lives he's wrecked, just like I have."The phrase is jarring coming from him, and I realize he's right."It's not going to be easy." I push my hair back behind my ears, in a gesture that's more nerves than anything."Nothing we've ever done is," he reminds me. "But I suggest you listen to your husband
LeightonStella and I are slowly making our way up main street from where we've been playing at the park. Whitney had a meeting, and asked me to watch her. Violet's been working half-shifts the past couple of days, and sent me off with an encouraging smile, telling me she had to watch the place by herself at some point. Which leads me to where we are right now."You thirsty?" I ask her. It's still a mile before we get back to The Café, and it's a scorcher today. We'd taken some bottles of water with us, but we'd drank them dry about thirty minutes ago. I know if I'm thirsty, she probably is too."So hot," she pushes her hair out of her face from where she stands next to me, as she nods."I know, Stellbelle," I pull us into the shade of a building's awning, reaching into her diaper bag to see what I can find. "Oh yeah, here we go," I grab out a hairbrush and a ponytail holder. Having a seat on the sidewalk, I motion for her to stand in front of me. "Let's get that hair up off your n
Leighton"I'm so excited!" Blaze literally bounces in the seat next to me as I navigate Holden's truck through traffic. Normally I hate driving it, but tonight I'll make an exception."Me too," I mumble as I try to jockey for position in the VIP entrance line.Holden and Tank surprised us two days ago with tickets to a Brantley Gilbert concert. Both of us had been under the impression it was sold out, but the guys had been tapped to work, and had gotten free tickets for their service."This guy's going to let you over," Blaze waved back at the person behind them, flashing them a smile and the horns."Thank you!" I yell through the window, appreciating someone not being a douchebag.The person directing traffic at this portion of the parking lot sees the pass Holden hung on his mirror before he and Tank left, and motioned me to another line, that was less crowded. "Holy shit," I sigh. "This is worse than driving in rush hour in Birmingham.""People wanna see the man," Blaze takes
HavocH: Do me a favor, babe. Whatever you hear through the grapevine today, give me a chance to explain when I get home.I wish I had been able to tell her what's going down, what's going to happen now that I've spoken with Brooks and gotten approval from the state. I wish I could have let her in on all of this, but I couldn't. I couldn't make her keep a secret, couldn't let her feel any more guilty than she already does. I promised her I would take care of Jefferson, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. This man will never have a hold over us anymore.L: That makes me nervous, Holden. Please don't do anything stupid.H: I'm doing my job, Leigh, just don't worry. I love you, no matter what you hear, I love you.L: Doesn't make me feel better, but I love you, too. I trust you with everything.H: That's all I ask. I'll be home as soon as I can."We ready to do this?" Tank asks as the group of us suit up.Normally it wouldn't take all of us to go arrest someone, but you never
Havoc"You ready to go, babe?" I watch as she grabs her purse, before waving a goodbye to Ernie."Yeah, I'm ready to spend the week, just with you," she gives me a gorgeous smile, "then watch our friends get married."We never really got a honeymoon. I try to think back now to why, but I know a part of me worried that trying to make it look too official would somehow jinx us. Today, a year and a half later, I'm no longer worried about that. We're solid, and I know we're solid. Doesn't mean there isn't a part of me that worries her grandfather won't manage to reignite the family business on his own, but knowing that Jefferson is behind bars lets me sleep at night.For the first time since we got married, we're planning, making a future a huge possibility. I want the whole nine yards with her – kids, growing old, grandkids later on down the road. Our lives are open, and there is no damn expiration date on anything."We'll see you down there?" I yell to Ace, watching as he stands nex
VOLUME FOUR: ACEViolet"Mrs. Miller, is there someone who can come get you?"The voice speaking to me is careful. Almost as if she's scared to use her normal tone. Everyone who's walked through the door since I got here, has treated me as if I'm about to break. Truthfully, I think I am.My eyes travel along my blanket covered legs, past the IV in my arm, over the identification bracelet on my wrist, and then up to the face of the nurse asking me the question. She's been the one taking care of me for the last few days. Everyday she's looked at me with pity in her eyes, and I can't say that I'm not looking forward to getting away from her knowing gaze. All I want right now is to go home, lick my wounds, and try to gather the pieces of my tattered pride. Try to make a life out of the smoldering wreckage left behind after the beating. I realize with great clarity my life has now been split into two parts – before the beating and after the beating. The beeping of the monitors ha
VioletAlone. It's an emotion I've felt for years, but it's never consumed me until this moment. Fact is, even when I've felt alone in this home, I've been here with Brent, and the loneliness was figurative, not literal.This afternoon it's literal. The clock on the wall ticks loudly in the silence. He's not sitting in his favorite recliner, watching some game on TV, drinking a beer, and smugly asking me when lunch will be served. I don't have to stand at the stove with my back to him, every retort running through my head to the foulness he speaks. My back doesn't have to stiffen when I hear him get up and feel him come behind me. I don't have to cringe as he touches me, pretend to enjoy the way his hands caress my body. Never again will I have to zone out as he finds pleasure in an act I haven't found pleasurable for years. But the silence - the being alone –gets to me.Truly, I can't remember the last time I was alone in this home physically. Brent never allowed me to be
VioletIt's been a week since I got out of the hospital, and I'm settling into a new routine, a new normal for me. Part of that new normal is having Anthony parked in front of my house almost every night. The other day he even did it in his own personal vehicle.I've taken to texting him when he arrives, to thank him for being out there, but we haven't really had a conversation since he brought me home. I have a feeling that's more my doing than his, and he's waiting for me to give him an opening. Tonight, I'm trying to create that opening.Taking the hamburger off the grill pan I've cooked it on, I plate it on a bun with the ketchup, mustard, mayo, and relish I know he likes. Every time he comes into The Café, it's how he orders his. I have one for myself too; eating is still a little difficult, but not as much as it had been when I first came home. Grabbing both of the plates and a bag with drinks and chips, I take a deep breath and head out my front door, toward the squad car