| |
I relieve Chris after I make sure that Lilly is good and laid down. Once he leaves I head back to my office to see what damage has been done to it. Chris told me the officers were here till close to four taking pictures of the scene as well as getting all their angles for their shot lines. Chris had kept everyone quiet in the main house so not to wake up Luke.
Thankfully, the shot that had killed my father had been a chest shot, so there was no brain splatter on my wall. There was some blood on the floor where he landed as well as where the leg wound laid on the ground. I knew of the leg wound because I heard Lilly give her statement. The officers had been nice enough to allow me to be there for support. I couldn’t say anything, but letting me be there for her was better than nothing.
I start calling around to get some quotes on having the carpet professionally replaced since the area will always be a different color than the rest of the carpeting. No matter how well the remover crew does, it will always be a bit different. I finally get a quote that I like and that they can come out here in the next couple of days and do the work. They promise to take only a day to do the work. It’s great since it’s around Christmas. I’m not going to let Luke in here until after the work is done. I don’t want him to see the blood or know what happened in here. I want to protect Luke as long as I can from the reality that all people aren’t good.
When I return to the main part of the house Luke is no where to be found immediately. I finally find him in the bed curled up with his mom. I stand in the doorway and admire the two of them on the bed together. He looks so at peace with her and she looks like she’s sleeping calmly. I’m exhausted from the past evenings events. I strip off my clothes down to my boxers and crawl into the bed with Luke and Lilly. We curl up together as a family.
When we wake up it is late in the afternoon. Luke has slipped out of the bed and it’s just Lilly and I. I pull her closer to me. “I can’t do this.” She says quietly.
“Can’t do what?” I ask her shocked that she’s wanting to give up.
“I can’t stay here, Can’t run the possibility of someone else finding me and taking advantage of me.”
I can understand where she is coming from, but I know that she is safe here. “He’s dead. I tell her. The sniper killed him. You were awesome in your reaction and you helped open the shot for the sniper.”
“I figured that much when the cops didn’t mention that I would need to testify in court.” She commented back to me.
“I know you are a smart woman. But, you can’t run every time something happens. Jeff is locked up and will remain so, probably until he’s dead.” I explain to her. I don’t want to lose her.
“I know, but what if someone you put in jail finds you here and decides to hurt me, Luke, or the baby?” She asks.
“God help them.” I say. It’s something that I think about every day. “The only way my father was able to find us here is because he helped to build this house. I never thought he’d escape prison and hunt me down.” I explain as I run my hands up and down her arms. I can tell she’s crying. I don’t want to lose her, and the tightness I’m feeling in my heart is telling me that she’s going to leave and there is nothing I can do about it. All I can do is hope that she gives it time, time for me to prove my love to her and to prove that she is safe here with me.
“I want to marry you and take care of you, Luke and our child. Will you let me do that?” I ask her.
She shrugs her shoulders and I can tell that she’s unsure if she’s safe. She doesn’t believe that I can protect her. I heard what she told the officers what my father did to her as well as what he’d said to her. If he wasn’t dead before now, he’d be dead by my hand right now.
“Marry me.” I finally say to her. “Let me prove that I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, Luke, or our children ever.” We are engaged, but that could go on for a while with a wedding that may never happen. I want her to be mine NOW. I’m done with waiting for a date to be set and everyone to get together and celebrate our love.
I want her I don’t need the fancy wedding. I need to protect her, I need to show her that she is safe with me, always. Lilly hasn’t set a date and I’m tired of waiting.