Keeper of The Lost Cities: Book 9: Showdown

Chapter 18 - Keefe's POV

"Liam, I don't feel guilty."

He walks over to the punching bag and starts wrapping it with duct tape. Seriously? Duct tape? "What's there to feel guilty about when you squash a bug?"

"Liam. It was a living being."

"It's a bug."

"I took away someone's life."

"It's like, the size of an... a... a dandelion seed!"

"I'm a murderer."

"A dandelion seed!"

"Are you two talking to yourselves?" Dr. Daniel leans in the doorway. "Because that was the most disconnected conversation I have ever come across."

Liam takes a bow. I stare at my hand, like how could you?

Once Liam straightens, I grip one of his shoulders, stare at him dead in the eye, and slap him.

It wasn't even hard.

Liam puts his hand to his cheek. "YO, MATE, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

Dr. Daniel snickers behind his hand. Good. Otherwise, I would be getting a big you-don't-slap-someone's-son-in-front-of-their-daddy lecture.

I stare at my hand again. "Dr. Daniel. I can't feel guilty."

"You can't feel guilty."

"I can't feel guilty."

"Well. Isn't that a good thing?"

I look between both Daniels. "I-I don't know."

"What does it mean to you, that you can't feel guilty?"

"It means... it means that my mother could-"

"Can, Keefe. Not could, can."

"It means my mother can use me in whatever way she wants, and it won't affect her."

Liam looks at me. "Keefe. What does it mean, to you? Don't think about your mother. How will this affect you?"

I look at the wall. "It means, I can finally get revenge on the Neverseen, for everything they've done."

"See?"

I deflate. "No. That sounded so dark. If my life were a book series, then that would be the cliffhanger at the end of the chapter."

Dr. Daniel ponders over what I said. "You're not wrong."

Liam gives him a pointed look. "I don't think you're helping."

Dr. Daniel shrugged. "I'm probably not. But, I came by, because..."

He flashed several cards - credit and debit cards, no doubt. "I'm going shopping!"

"Meet my dad. The only guy in the entire universe, who doesn't mind going shopping."

Dr. Daniel shrugged. "Someone has to do it. I don't know your shirt size, Keefe."

"Just borrow a T-shirt from my closet." I tell him dismissively.

"Ookkie dokie."

"Did your dad just say okie dokie?"

Liam sighed. "Afraid so."

Dr. Daniel laughed - a light-hearted, uplifting laugh. It was short, but while it lasted, I literally felt my heart lighten. I'd been with the Daniels so long, and I'd never felt this way before. Then I realized I'd never heard Dr. Daniel laugh. Strange.

He left from the doorway, and later a jingle of keys and a series of clicks told me that he'd left the apartment. Liam was about done duct taping the punching bag, but I didn't want to go at it again because 1) I was tired, and 2) it would be especially hard to punch it and not look like I had the strength of a little girl, because 3) Liam duct taped the entire thing.