His Revenge, Her Freedom

Chapter 15- 'Make it count'

Imani POV

"Why are you here?"

Reagan rolled her eyes at my comment and pushed past me into the house. Her very presence was annoying me, so I knew her little visit wouldn't be a happy one.

"Because I'm sick of you acting like you're better than me."

"Excuse me?" I closed the door and leaned on the adjoining wall. She turned around to frown right back at me.

"This whole 'hating me because I left' thing is getting really old. Get over yourself. I left you guys for four years. Okay? Big whoop. Stop acting like a spoiled brat."

"Okay, couple of things. First of all, don't let the prosthetic and the fact that my daughter is named after you confuse things. I won't hesitate to beat the crap out of you given the opportunity. Watch your tone." I liked Reagan, I really did. But, my military training was kicking in right about now. I didn't appreciate being spoken to any sort of way especially by someone who was so obviously in the wrong. "Secondly, I think you're mistaken on why I'm mad. Get over yourself. I couldn't care less that you selfishly left your family for four years without saying anything."

"Then, why are you mad at me?"

Unfortunately, I was getting ready to break so many rules here. I had made a promise that what happened would stay between him and I. But, I had to let Reagan know the severity of what she'd done. The damage that she could've caused.

I had to tell her.

"I didn't want to have to tell you this, and trust me when I say that you don't want to know. But, if you and Louis have a prayer in ever speaking cordially again, you have to hear it. Because as of right now, he wants nothing to do with you." Her face fell, but I pretended like I didn't notice. If I was to get through this, I couldn't let hurt feelings deter me. "Sit down," I pointed to the chair in front of the one that I was getting ready to sit in, "And listen. Don't interrupt. Don't ask questions. Just listen for once in your life. Okay?"

The scowl on her face told me that she so desperately wanted to make a smart comment back at me, but I didn't care. She needed to know this. Whether she wanted to or not.

"If you think about it, I knew you for a couple of months before you 'died'. Most of my time was spent with Niall, and I think I only met you about three times by yourself if that. I'm not even sure if you and I ever held a full conversation just the two of us before now."

"What's your point?"

"Didn't I say no questions?"

Reagan bit back the urge to say something, crossed her legs in front of her, and shut her mouth. I was enjoying this far too much.

"Just be patient. My point is...I really didn't know you well enough to care about your death. I mean, yeah I was sad for your kids and even Niall. He cried for three months when you left. I was sad for everyone else, but you and I weren't close enough for me to shed a tear over you. We just weren't. I'm not mad at you for leaving for my benefit, Reagan. I'm mad for Louis's. I'm angry for him." I cleared my throat and closed my eyes for a second before continuing. "It was a Monday night two years ago. June 12th. Any significance to that date, Reagan?"

"Am I supposed to speak now?" she spat.

Not even dignifying that question with a response, I stared at her until she answered.

"June 12th is my birthday, but you knew that."

"Yeah, I did," I nodded, "I didn't before that night though. Louis asked Niall and me to keep the kids for the night. I was going to be deployed later that week, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to spend some last minute time with them. Niall and I agreed. That night, Liz kept complaining about needing Bentley there to help her sleep. So, reluctantly, I drove over to Louis's to get the dog." Reagan gave me a look when I paused trying to get up the courage to finish the story. She might as well prepare herself. The rest wasn't pretty. "When I got there, Louis didn't answer. So, using Niall's key, I walked in and went upstairs to find the dog. Instead of finding Bentley, I found your husband, the man you claim to love, unconscious on the bathroom floor. No matter how much I screamed or hit him, he wouldn't wake up. I thought it was something random, like the flu or an allergic reaction to something. That was until I found the pill bottle next to the sink. And, it was completely empty."