To Not Let Go

Chapter Three

      As Renne looked out the window of Swayde's truck, she thought back to the day, almost six years ago now, when she found out the truth about the car accident that killed her parents. As much as she wished she could erase the painful parts of the memory, part of her was glad she hadn't, because it had reminded her how far she has come, and how this life was not one that she was ready to leave behind. It had shown her what it was like to truly forgive those who had hurt her so terribly bad. That still did not make the memory of that day any less painful...

      Renne grinned, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Sitting down on her knees, she pulled the last cardboard box towards her, reaching for the stack of newspapers she was using to wrap up the picture frames. Today was the day that 21 year-old Swayde moved into his new ranch house on the property he had purchased just months before. This whole week, Swayde and Renne had been busily working on getting Swayde's  fixer-upper house all touched up to begin moving boxes in.

      Today, Swayde had been working diligently to get the walls of the finished basement painted in his house while 19 year old Renne finished packing up the last of the boxes that were being stored in the loft of Mamaw and Papaw's barn, where Swayde had been staying for the past month.

      Humming to her self, Renne picked up a photo frame from the pile to her left, smiling when she saw the picture that her and Swayde had taken together at Christmas last year. Swayde was standing behind Renne, with his arms tightly wrapped around her. The couple both sported "ugly" Christmas sweaters, part of the Walker family Christmas tradition. Huge smiles covered the couple's faces as they posed happily in front of the large, decorated Christmas tree. Renne could have sworn that her heart began to beat faster as she thought about the handsome man standing in that picture with her.

      That smile never falling from her face, Renne grabbed an old newspaper from her right, opening it, carefully setting the picture inside, folding the paper over it. As she did so, the headline on the front page caught her eye. "Couple Killed In Drunk Driving Accident By Local Resident." Immediately, the smile dropped from Renne's face as she saw the date of the paper. It was written 12 years ago...dropping her eyes down to the article, she skimmed the words, tears rising to her eyes the more she read. Immediately, she stopped reading when she saw two familiar names.

       The couple mentioned in the article were none other than Renne's parents. Her eyes lingered over their names for a second longer before she continued reading more of the article. A huge lump rose in her throat when she saw another familiar last name on the old paper. Anger took over the sadness that Renne felt when she reread the sentence. "...the drunk driver of the car that tragically killed Sally and Mark Walker was 19 year old local Troy McAllister, a close friend of the Walker family. Troy was killed on impact, but Sally and Mark were immediately life-lighted to Memorial hospital, dying a short time later..."

     Renne felt her bottom lip quiver as she kept reading. Troy McAllister was Swayde's older brother. He was the one responsible for turning a seven year old into an orphan. With shaky hands, Renne noticed she had begun to crumple the old newspaper that told her more truth about her parent's death, than her own family had told her. Standing up off the floor, she walked out of the door of the barn, newspaper in one hand, and her truck keys in the other.

      Her jaw was set firm, and her teeth were gritted as she pressed her foot down hard on the gas pedal, spitting up gravel and dirt under her tires as she backed out of the parking space in front of the barn. Throwing her truck into drive, Renne sped off to Swayde's new house, her mind fuming with things she wanted to yell at him. Mainly, she wanted to know why on earth Swayde would keep such a huge secret like that from her for years. Just then, another thought popped into her head. Swayde and Renne had been dating for three years, shortly after Renne had began to ask a lot of questions about her parents death. Seeing the newspaper article made Renne question everything, including her relationship with Swayde. Was he with her only because he felt bad about her parent's death? Like he somehow felt responsible for keeping such a secret, or somehow felt guilty for their death? Renne was sure she was just projecting; Swayde truly loved her, but that didn't stop bad thoughts from entering her head as she sped towards his ranch, tears threatening to blur her vision.