Instead Grant had set us all up to finish our classes online and I had holed up in the house, working my butt off to catch up on each subject. It was partly an excuse for me to stay safe in the confines of the house, but I was also determined to complete school with Cole and Matt, feeling ready for a new adventure after the summer, when the guys would start college. I had no idea what I wanted to do, just that another year of school work was not it.
The guys had been at my side throughout, at first reluctant to let me out of their sight even long enough to pee. Kade and Kyle had taken leave from their jobs and spent time at home, helping us finish up school, and working together to investigate the mystery shooter at the cabin. They seemed fairly certain it was an accomplice of The Shadow who got antsy when the police started getting too close, and so took out The Shadow to cover his, or her, ass. They were also confident, because of the radio call sending that cop to lure me to the station, and some other discrepancies, that this accomplice was a cop, but thus far, they had little to go on. Whoever the accomplice was, they were careful. The guys were determined to find whoever it was though, and until they did, I didn’t think they would ever let me leave the house alone, even though if that person had wanted me dead, they could have killed me that awful day in the cabin.
Still, I wasn’t arguing too much. I loved having the guys with me, and certainly didn’t feel ready to be facing the world alone anyway.
Physically I had recovered well. My injuries had been fairly minor once I got over the dehydration and concussion. Just some heavy bruising and cuts, leaving behind just a couple of new small scars to add to my collection once they had healed.
Emotionally things had been tougher. I had suffered with some anxiety attacks, and my nightmares now featured new scenes of Chris dying, Hailey’s terror and the murder of The Shadow, and for a while I had woken in a state every night, but everytime I had, one or more of the guys had been there with me, soothing me and making me feel safe once again.
Keira and Grant had been great too, and encouraged me to increase my sessions with my therapist, April, for a while at least. For three months I had seen her four times a week, and had her on speed dial for my worst episodes, but as the weeks passed, and with the support of everyone I loved, things calmed down, and I began to take back control of my emotions more and more.
My biggest obstacle remained though- being in crowded, or noisy places, hence why I was now wringing my hands to stop them trembling as we stood in the long line of seniors waiting to graduate. Grant had made special arrangements to ensure the guys would be either side of me throughout, and our whole family sat in the crowd out front in support, all knowing how much I had wanted to do this.
The opening speaker was on stage, droning on. I had no idea what he was saying because I was too busy stressing out, and taking in the handsome sight of Cole and Matt in their robes and caps. They looked so damned good, and I had to admit, they were a very welcome distraction for me.
“Ok Beautiful, we’re up.” Cole whispered as names began to be called onto the stage. We were pretty near the front, Grant’s doing once again, so we wouldn’t be waiting long.
Then they called Cole’s name and Matt and I were clapping and whooping for him as he crossed the stage and took his certificate. He looked back at us with a huge smile and my heart pounded wildly at the love I felt for him in that moment.
“Deep breath, Cariña.” Matt encouraged, just as my name was read out next. I hesitated for a second, but Matt’s comforting pat on the shoulder encouraged me to take that breath, then move.
As I walked across the stage I felt overcome with emotion. It was a huge step for me to graduate that day. It was a major leap in overcoming everything The Shadow had taken from me in the time he held me. He had stolen my childhood and my school years as he hurt and abused me in The Darkness, but there on that stage, I felt like I was proving to him, to myself, and to the world, that he didn’t hold me back. He didn’t break me. I had survived and escaped, and now I had worked hard enough to finish high school with everyone else my age. I overcame what he put me through, and I would continue to do so.
As I shook the hand of the principal, and fought not to flinch at the contact, I felt like I was sending that monster from my nightmares a huge ‘Fuck you’. We still didn’t know who he was, or why he had done what he did. As far as identifying his body, there had been only dead ends. He was a ghost, but it didn’t matter. He was the past, and there, on that stage, I had a future, a bright one.
“Congratulations.” The principal said, but I wasn’t really listening. I was looking from Cole at one side of the stage, over to Matt at the other, and basking in their loving smiles.
Applause and loud whistling had me turning as I walked off stage. I caught sight of Grant and Keira right in the centre of the stage. Evie sat on Grant’s shoulders and was squealing and clapping. Kyle and Kade were on Keira’s right, both making the loud whistling sounds as they beamed at
