The Risks

September: Chapter 24

I'd never dug a grave before. Parker and I worked together, digging deeper and deeper. I could have dug forever. When he told me we were done, it was dusk. I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my dirty hand. He helped me out of the hole and we went to get Raleigh.

He carried her out into the yard. We'd covered her in the sheets from the bed and I couldn't help but be reminded of Oakley. It was all too similar. The white sheet, the blood, the endless pit of a hole.

After we filled the hole, Parker and I left Raleigh with her, giving him some privacy.

I went immediately to the bathroom and showered mechanically. My regular tasks became a check list. Finish one thing, move on to the next.

After I showered, I walked the hallway. Raleigh was laying on Andi's bed. Its mattress stripped of coverings, blood stained near the headboard. His chest heaved as he laid there, curled into fetal position. I entered the room without realizing it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice hoarse.

He held still for a moment.

"I couldn't tell her no," I told him. "I'm sorry."

"I understand," he mumbled, not turning to face me. I could hear the crinkle of paper. "But I don't think I can forgive you."

I turned and left the room, then walked to the very end of the hallway and into the last bedroom. I pulled back the covers and crawled into the big bed.

...

A week went by silently. Raleigh only left the bedroom to use the restroom. One night as Parker and I were cooking something for dinner, Raleigh entered the living room. I hadn't talked to him since he told me he couldn't forgive me. Parker had been the one to take him food and keep him company for the past week.

"Hey," Parker said as Raleigh stood on the outskirts of the living room. "I was just about to bring you something to eat."

"Thanks," Raleigh said. His voice was soft and dry. Had he not been speaking to Parker much? "I think I'll eat out here with you."

He sat down beside me on the couch and gave me a sideways glance. I did the same, but added a careful smile.

We ate the soup we prepared quietly. I didn't know what to say around Raleigh, but I felt like not saying anything was just as bad.

Parker spoke up then, thankfully. "We're going on a run tomorrow. You're welcome to join us."

Raleigh bit his cheek. "Okay. It probably wouldn't hurt to get out of the house."

...

I got up in the morning and groggily made my way into the bathroom to change clothes and brush my teeth. When I was changed, there was a knock on the door. I opened it and Parker came in. I moved to one of the sinks to brush my teeth. He joined me, grabbing his toothbrush.

"You should probably be the one to wake up Raleigh," I said.

He spat into the sink then gave me a confused look.

"I mean, he may have accepted what happened, but he never forgave me."

Parker smirked. "He's not going to kill you. I've talked to him. He's sorry, you know."

"Well he never told me that," I said sourly.

"Look," Parker said, putting away his toothbrush. "If he really wanted to kill you, he would have tried to do it already."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," I grumbled, rubbing a hand across my throat.

He laughed again. "It's fine. Besides, do you really think I'd give him the opportunity to even try?"