Page 63 of Last Girls Alive

“All taken care of,” he said.

“What? No, I need to get home.”

“Don’t worry. It’s all taken care of.”

“How?”

“I called McGaven and he and Denise were happy to go over and spend some time with Cisco. He knew where you hid a key. I think he said they were going to watch some action movies—Cisco’s favorite.”

“He did that?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I’ve been… difficult to work with recently and I thought he was mad at me,” she said.

“If he was, I couldn’t tell.”

Katie looked down and was upset that she’d allowed things to be left the way they were at the office. “I… I don’t…”

Chad confronted her. “It’s okay. You need to relax and tell me what’s going on.” He steered her to the living room where they sat down.

Katie was overwhelmed and burdened with some of the most intense things, but she didn’t want to whine or dump her problems on anyone. But now, she found herself sitting in front of someone she loved, who was waiting for her to let it all out.

He sat patiently and sipped his tea.

She didn’t know how she did it, but the words came tumbling out as she rattled on abouteverything. Her work, the cases, her house, her grief over losing her aunt, the confrontation with Hugh Keller, unrest with McGaven, her work conduct, getting written up for her last case, and everything in between.

Once she finished her monologue she watched for Chad’s reaction. He had listened, nodding every once in a while, sometimes he kept her gaze, other times he looked away to give her space to talk, but in the end he was still her best friend and lover.

There was a moment of silence. It wasn’t the uncomfortable kind, but it felt like something was missing and hanging precariously in the balance.

Chad moved closer to Katie and he gently kissed her. “I had no idea that you’ve been balancing all of this. I’m sorry that I can’t help to carry some of your burden. But I’m here. I’m always here.”

“I’m sorry, I had no right to dump everything out on you.”

“You didn’t. You needed to get that off your chest and I’m glad you did.”

Katie looked down. “It actually sounds worse than it is… it’s just… today I think I hit my limit.”

“You can’t go around carrying this kind of weight. I’m surprised you didn’t break sooner. You need a good night’s sleep. Stay here and rest.”

“But I don’t—”

“Let it go, Katie… Tomorrow you’ll feel rested and we can tackle all these things, one… at… a… time. Let it go tonight…”

Twenty-Nine

I stirred the chocolate cake mix until everything had been combined according to the instructions on the box. I wanted to do something nice for my mother, since she hadn’t beaten me in almost a month.

She had even begun to straighten up the house and take garbage out of the rooms. She smiled when I came home from school. It was like a miracle had happened.

I looked at the cake box and made sure I added the eggs, oil, and milk. It was going to be a wonderful cake. There was even ice cream in the freezer too. It was going to be a celebration.

I heard the front door open and my excitement grew.

The door slammed.

I jerked my arm as I was stirring the bowl.