Luke had so many secrets.
So many things he didn’t tell his children.
But I’m not like that. My house doesn’t have secrets, and it never will. Everything is out in the open, and we all love each other.
And anyone that tries to hurt my family will meet the same fate as anyone that has ever come up against the Greene family.
They’ll go in the ground, and we’ll continue on. We always will, no matter what happens. No matter who we lose.
There are just some legacies that will never die.
Epilogue
Cleo
My tummy hurts.
I’m not sure why or why it feels as faint as it does. The world around me keeps blinking in and out and it’s scary.
I’m starting to feel colder, sleepier with each passing second, but no one is telling me why. I’ve tried asking as best as I can, but my voice won’t work. I only make breathing sounds that sound like I’m blowing out air instead of making words.
I can hear the little ones crying somewhere nearby, but only barely.
Skylar’s stopped screaming so I’m sure she was able to go far away from this place. She never liked it here, and neither did Richter, but when we were little, we promised each other that we’d never leave the other one behind.
Daddy took that away from us when he took me to town. He told me that I wasn’t his problem anymore and that I’d be staying with family.
He told me it was my fault for not being perfect like my brother and sister, and while I didn’t understand it then, being in his house again… well, I understand it now.
I wince as another wave of pain crashes over me. I struggle to put a hand on my belly, but I can’t move. And while the rest of my body feels cold, my tummy feels warm.
It’s the baby.
It has to be.
I close my eyes for a second then open them again and it makes my head hurt too. I know it will go away once I’m able to stand up. I’ll tell Bryden that I’m sorry and he’ll forgive me because he always does.
I’ll take Sierra by the hand and show her the room I used to sleep in, the one my baby will sleep in, and everyone will be happy again.
”…okay?”
I try to speak and am only able to make another hissing sound. Taking in a deep breath, I imagine rubbing my tummy, hoping that it will make the baby feel better.
Bryden told me once that when the mommy gets sick, so does the baby, and I don’t want that to happen.
I want to be a good mommy, like mine was. I want her to be proud of me because I know she would be happy to see me being so grown up with a baby of my own.
If you’re a girl, I’ll name you after my mommy. She had the most beautiful name I’ve ever known, I think as a tired smile creases my lips.
“…body … holes … now.”
A high-pitched voice that sounds miles away says something I can’t quite understand.
“…Casey … dying … sorry.”
I open my eyes big and wide like Bryden taught me to do the night that he told me that he was going to put a baby inside of me. He told me that it would be his way of knowing that I was paying attention and understanding the love he was giving me.
And I need to feel that now more than anything—not his love, but the love of my brother and sister.
My face crumples slightly as another wave of pain crashes over me, but it’s not because of my tummy and my head.
It’s because he killed my big brother and I didn’t have enough time to think of how to stop him.
Daddy was right.
I never was a perfect little girl and that’s my fault. He gave me what he could, and Momma was so patient with me, but I… I just couldn’t be what he wanted or expected.
Stupid girl, this is all your fault, I scold myself.
Maybe if I was smart like Richter or pretty like Skylar, Daddy would have loved me more. He wouldn’t have hit Momma and made her cry.
A tear rolls down the side of my face, pooling in my ear as I promise the baby inside me that no matter what, I’ll love it the way Momma did with me.
I’ll be patient and kind.
I’ll give it everything I had and more, and I’ll never let it out of my sight because that’s what good Mommas do.
And even though I know Daddy didn’t love me, I still miss him being in his home again. He wasn’t a nice man, but he did his best and I happened to be his worst.
“Cleo?”
I close my eyes again and smile at the faint sound of his voice.
Maybe Daddy loved me more than he was willing to admit because the colder my body gets, the more pain I feel, the better I can hear his voice.
“Cleo? Don’t be afraid, okay?”
I nod as another tear rolls and the smile on my lips falters.
The pain in my tummy is going away now and so is the pain in my head.
But the biggest pain that I’ve ever felt—the one in my heart—it’s finally starting to leave me because my Daddy is here and he’s welcoming me back home.
“I love you, Daddy,” I whisper as one final breath escapes me and takes all of the pain I’ve ever felt away with it.
THE END
About the Author
Yolanda Olson is a USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author. Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT where she currently resides, she usually spends her time watching her favorite channel, Investigation Discovery. Occasionally, she takes a break to write books and test the limits of her mind. Also an avid horror movie fan, she likes to incorporate dark elements into the majority of her books.
You can keep in touch with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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