"I don't know why you're freaking out right now," Lucas said, swerving onto the main highway taking them to his dad's house. "My dad is not behind this. You think he kidnapped my girlfriend, too? Come off it, Patch. That's ridiculous." Patch knew how it sounded to Lucas, how it sounded to himself. He didn't want to accuse Mr. Summers of anything. He'd taken him in on so many occasions, that he didn't want to think he'd be behind this. But Patch's gut told him to get back to Delaney. "Are you even listening?" Lucas said louder this time. Patch glanced over at him, and he looked worried—irate—but worried. Maybe worried Patch was right. "I’m listening," Patch said, shoving his fingers into his hair. "I maybe wrong, but I have a feeling." Lucas sighed heavily. "There is something that I need to tell you," he said. "What is it?" "Dad … he. Our mother didn't die in a car accident, Patch. Someone broke into our house when we were small, and … killed her. We told Delaney she died fr
Her entire body felt numb. A soul crushing numbness that began to eat at her insides, and travel through her veins like a virus, meant to kill her. My dad? Daddy? None of it made sense. How could her own dad be behind any of this? He’d taught her how to ride a bike, how to tie her shoe, and drive. His soft smile always put Delaney at ease. And to know that he was someone else’s fear. That he tortured Katy. He potentially killed Patch’s mother, and was behind The South Side? Why? Nothing made sense. She tried to put everything together, but nothing fit. It was a jigsaw puzzle with no matching pieces, that she didn’t know if it would ever come together. Her father’s eyes looked so lifeless when she stared into them. Tears coated her cheeks, and her bottom lip trembled. When Patch sprung into action, none of it registered. She stood like statue, waiting to wake up from her dream, but it didn’t happen. She didn’t even remember locking the door, or Gabriel getting arrested. It was
The shade of white on Delaney's face grew more pale by the second. Something traveled over her features, and realization settled there. She didn't even budge when the mug shattered to pieces at her feet. "What do you mean?" Patch asked after everyone became quiet. "You remember the mug? Couldn't it have come from your house--," She shook her head. "No. I vividly remember the mug and the cabin," she said, leaning against the island, she palmed her head in confusion. "I was around eight or so. We'd gone somewhere, and after dinner I was so sleepy, I fell asleep in the backseat. Dad must have thought I was out of it, and left me in the car while it was running," she whispered, her gaze traveling some place far off. "I stumbled out of the car, and into the cabin. I'd never been there before, it was old, and smelled like grandma's house. I remember feeling thirsty, so I poured myself a glass of water with a mug from the cabinet. I grabbed that mug," she said softly. "I yelled for Dad, an
The searing pain in Patch’s shoulder throbbed in sync with his heartbeat. He’d never been shot before, and he realized quickly he was glad for it. Delaney's voice wavered in and out of his hearing, her soft touches seemed light years away. Patch didn’t even realize the EMTs had arrived until they lugged him up and onto the gurney. They lifted him with a struggle up the spiral staircase as he heard the police reading Delaney's father his rights. He knew everything would be cleared now. The police had no choice but to drop their case against Patch and his mother. They figured it out. They knew who was behind the killings, and The South Side. Most likely other killings as well. Maybe they could settle solve other murders or mysteries now that he was caught. But Patch knew that the struggle wasn’t completely over. His best friend and his girlfriend just found out that their father was a murderer. A serial killer. A man they didn’t know him to be. The hurt in Delaney's voice and her
The sound of Delaney's car door slamming behind her, and peace the front seat of her car brought, made her smile. She'd spent most of the day studying in-between her grad school classes, before she needed to get home to whip up something for dinner. She'd spent the majority of the semester, trying her hardest to get the last few months out of her brain. Well, the bad parts of it at least. Those months brought her back into Patch Larson's sight. The mention of his name still gave her goosebumps. After his shoulder healed, and she made arrangement for grad school in Florida, they moved. Witout second thought, they gatered their things and moved. No more small town drama. No more of her father's problems, not that he hadn't tried to reach out by phone, and write Lucas wanting her to stop by. Maybe one day she could stop by, but at the moment, she didn't want to hear his lies or excuses. Having to go back for the trial would be enough for her. She hated that Patch had to relive a
“You’ve put on some love chub.”She hadn’t expected anymore from her older brother, Lucas. Eight years older than her but none the wiser. He’d looked the same since he graduated seventeen years before. His career in the military had only added to his good looks. Turns out girls really like big arms, tattoos and Marine cuts, who would have thought? Plus having a purple heart because you saved someone’s life really gets ‘em hot.Hence the nice farm house he lived in with four-wheelers and ATVs, on top of owning the small lumber store down town, he had done well for himself, which put a lot of pressure on her to do so, too.“Yep,” he said, picking her up a bit from the floor. “Definitely love chub.”“Wow, I feel so beautiful. Thank you for that.” Sadly, he wasn’t wrong per se. She had put on some weight in the last few years but it had turned int
Sweet, little Delaney … Patch placed his empty plate on the edge of the coffee table, and leaned back against the loveseat so he could look at her without drawing attention. Delaney wasn’t what he remembered of her, not even in the last few years when he stopped by for the holidays. There was an evident few pounds she’d gained, he was sure because she’d gotten too comfortable with what’s his name, but damn him to hell, if she didn’t wear it well. She’d definitely matured since the last time he’d seen her … when was that again? The latest he could remember was around Christmas in 2019. She hadn’t brought her boyfriend—well, ex-boyfriend with her that year--which, had been fine with him. He had no desire to meet the guy, especially since Lucas filled him in on his lack of knowing how to do anything but study. Entitlement came to mind from what Lucas told him. Patch never imagined Delaney being with a man that couldn’t take car
“Breakfast!” she shouted.It didn’t surprise her that no one answered. She’d gotten into the grove of getting up early for classes for a while. Her brother was used to waking up when he wanted since he hired a manager to look after the lumber store for him.“Lucas!” she shouted again.Nothing.She took the last piece of bacon off of the griddle and put it on the paper towel with the rest to drain. Lucas made a grunt from the other room after a few moments, which gave her a few minutes before he actually made it to the kitchen.She wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and looked out of the blinds. Patch’s motorcycle wasn’t there which shocked her. Where did he have to go that early in the morning, not that it was her business, but she was a little curious.Lucas’ shuffled in a few short minutes later, no shirt and a pair of basketball shorts riding lo