Moving On

Chapter 26 - Part 1

Kate placed the new photo frame down on the late Mr. Hayes's desk, setting it right beside the photo of young Tyler and his grandfather.

When she got home from the hospital, she'd immediately dug out the photo of the late Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. The official report stated that Kate had picked up the gun and shot the window before leaping out. But she was certain she wouldn't be alive if it weren't for God who sent Tyler's parents.

She'd just set the frame down when the doorbell to the mansion rang. It must be Lydia.

Kate trotted down the stairs and opened the door. She turned without saying a word to Lydia and sat beside Evelyn on the couch.

She'd never been angrier at Lydia than she was now.

She didn't mind helping Lydia with the investigation. She wouldn't have been pleased if Lydia had chosen to continue with it despite the lack of leads. But she hated being lied to.

And Lydia hadn't just lied to her once.

"Are you all right?" Lydia asked, breaking the silence.

Evelyn set the newspaper down and stared pointedly at Lydia.

"As you can see, we're alive and well," Kate said.

"I'm sorry."

"About the fact that we were almost burned to death or that you blatantly lied to me?"

"I thought they were empty threats. I went back to Cooper's place a few times. I might've hinted that I knew more than I was letting on and was going to uncover the truth about our parents' case."

Evelyn grunted while Kate sighed.

"But I had nothing. I was just trying to get something, anything, out of him. When you told me about the threats, I didn't think it would result in anything serious. You had so many people keeping you safe anyway. I thought my pushing was starting to scare him. The threats proved I was right; it proved he was hiding something. So I kept going back," Lydia continued.

She couldn't believe what Lydia was saying. Despite knowing about the threats, Lydia didn't think of anything else but the case.

"Well? I hope you got something major that would blow the case wide open, because your sister almost paid for your so-called justice with her life," Evelyn said. Lydia opened her mouth, but Evelyn raised her hand to stop Lydia before continuing. "And, by the way, if she'd died because of your pig-headedness and I killed you, is that justifiable in your book?"

Lydia pursed her lips and took a slow, deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"Maybe it's time for you to be more concerned about the living than the dead," Evelyn chided.

"I know you guys are angry, but I swear I didn't know he'd follow through with the threats. I thought Kate was safe."

"Thought?" Evelyn gave a dry laugh. "Yeah. It's the thought that counts, right?"

Though Kate was frustrated, she didn't want things to get out of hand. And most importantly, she didn't want Tyler to see Lydia.

"Look—"

"Lydia, I can't begin to explain or describe how angry I am with you. And seriously, I don't care what you thought. What you caused Evelyn, me, and everyone else to go through was inexcusable."

"Kate," Lydia said.

"I'm not done." Kate paused and drew a deep breath. "I know you want to know the truth about our parents' case, but I'm done with it. I'm not going to help you anymore. If you want to live your life obsessing about something that happened so many years ago, then you can go ahead and do that."

Kate strode over to her handbag and fished out her mother's locket. Taking Lydia's hand, she dropped the locket into her palm. "It's your ghost to chase."

"I didn't know you would get hurt. I didn't know things would turn out like this."

"Yeah, you've made that pretty clear," Evelyn said and rolled her eyes.

"I think you should go."

"Kate—"

"One more thing, I'm engaged. That was why I called you from the cabin." Kate opened the door and stood by it. "Bye."

"And try not to do anything that will get us killed," Evelyn shouted as Lydia plodded out.

Kate closed the door once Lydia was out.

"Don't feel bad. She deserves it," Evelyn said as Kate walked back toward the couch.

"Dan told me that you kicked him out of the ward last night."

"That's a smooth change in topic."

She shrugged. "So what happened?"

"Nothing." Picking up her phone, Evelyn focused on the screen and refused to look up at Kate.

Evelyn always did that when she wanted to avoid talking about something.

"Eve, I know how hiding in the bathroom must've brought up some forgotten nightmares."

"They were never forgotten."

Kate pursed her lips. She knew she could never understand the fear that Evelyn grew up in. "I'm sorry for what you went through, but Dan isn't like—"

"I just can't have people around when I'm sleeping, you know that," Evelyn interjected.

"You've fallen asleep with me around, so it's a matter of trust. I seriously doubt he'll mind waking up if you have a nightmare."

Evelyn ignored Kate and continued staring at her phone.

Seeing that Evelyn wasn't ready to talk about it, Kate let it drop. "You deserve to have someone who will love and protect you, someone who will cherish you and give you a family."

"I already have you for that. Or are you telling me that since you have Tyler, I'm being booted?"

Shaking her head with a grin, Kate continued. "Dan's fine, by the way. A little confused, but I assured him that he did nothing wrong."

Evelyn finally glanced up from her phone. She gave Kate a small smile, then returned to scanning through her phone.

"You're welcome," Kate said.

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