Love's Suicide (Love's Suicide #1)(31)

“D.C. originally.”

“Wow. This must be like a ghost town. Why would you want to live here?”

I looked out the window and admired the scenery. “I’m starting over. My parents perished in 9-11, and it’s never been the same for me. I needed a fresh start, somewhere quiet and equally beautiful.”

“I’m so sorry about your parents. I can’t imagine what that was like for you. How old were you when it happened?”

“Twelve. I was twelve when it happened.” It still hurt to talk about.

“I guess you had family to take you in?” I’d answered these questions so many times in my life and it never really got easier. They were still gone and I was alone.

“My parent’s friends took care of me.”

“Did somethin’ happen to them?” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. It’s none of my business. Please excuse me for askin’.”

“Nothing happened to them. I fell in love with both of their twin sons, and on the night I was to wed one, I spent the night with the other.”

She pulled the car over and stared at me. “Tell me you’re kiddin’? When did this happen? It must have been just awful.”

I sighed, imagining her kicking me out of the car. “Two days ago. I woke up, leaving my mess at the hotel and everything and everyone behind.” I started to cry and she threw the car into park. I felt her hand touching my arm and I looked up at her. “Are you okay?”

“No. I feel terrible. They were the only family I had left. I can’t go back there. I’ve got nowhere else to go.”

She looked in the backseat at her children and then back to me. “We’ve got a trailer on our farm. It used to be for our farm help to live in, but he’s got his own place now. It’s a filthy mess, but with a good scrubbin’ it could get better. I’ll have to talk to my husband about rent, and he’s not the givin’ kind of man, but it’s better and cheaper than stayin’ in some hotel.”

I couldn’t take my eyes from her. “You don’t even know my name. Why would you do this for me?”

“I try to live my life like a Christian would. Now, I don’t know what happened to make you do what you did, but it’s not my place to judge you. Anyone can tell you’re hurtin.’ It ain’t like I’m handin’ you a bone and not askin’ for anything. To be honest, we could use the extra income. I’d much rather have you livin’ there then some derelict.”

An hour later, I’d gotten my things from the motel and we were pulling up at the farm. The main house was two-story and looked a hundred years old. The trailer was off to the side of the property near a barn. We pulled up to it and a man, wearing bib overalls approached us.

“What are you doin’, Sarah?”

“This is…,” she paused waiting for me to say my name.

“I’m Katy Michaels.”

“What’s she doin’ here?”

Sarah handed me a bag, seeming to not care about his questions. “She’s goin’ to be rentin’ out the trailer. I told her we’d come up with a good amount for rent. She’s already got a job, so you won’t have to worry about money.”

He looked at me and spit in the plastic cup he was holding. Black saliva sat at the bottom of it, and I wanted to cringe knowing what it was. “It’s three-hundred a month, due the first. If you’re late, it’s an extra fifty.”

I smiled. “Sounds good. Thank you.”

He gave Sarah a dirty look and walked away.

“My husband can be a jerk sometimes. Don’t mind him. We’ve had a bad year.”

My first thought when I walked into the trailer that smelled of stale cigarettes was to run and never look back. I wanted to be back in that roach infested shit-hole hotel instead of calling this place home.

“I’ll bring over some cleaning supplies and we’ll give it a good scrubbin’. Why don’t you take a look around while I unload my groceries and feed the kids lunch. I’ll call Bobby and have him get your car towed while I’m inside.”

She turned around before walking outside. “I know you probably heard it already, but I’m Sarah.”

I held out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She smiled and agreed. “I’ll be back soon.”

The furniture had been covered with sheets. After putting the groceries in the cabinets, plugging in the refrigerator and other appliances, I started looking around. The trailer was old and needed work, but it had two bedrooms and one bathroom. The kitchen was big enough that it had a table and the living room had a sofa, loveseat and small television.

Once I’d familiarized myself with the place, I sat down and started opening my new phone. The service was terrible from being out in the country, but with two bars I dialed Melissa’s number.

“Hello?”

“It’s me, Katy. I just want you to know I’m okay.”

“Where are you? Branch came looking for you. The shit hit the fan when you left. He thinks you and Brooks ran off together. It seems that he disappeared around the same time you did. Have you heard from him?”

“No.” I started to worry, wondering what had happened. Then I remember writing the letter. If he’d gotten it, I’d shattered him so bad that he had to leave. I started to cry. “Oh my God. What have I done?”