Grace had given him exactly what he needed. She’d seen him.Reallyseen him. Understood what he’d gone through, the pain of loss after loss after loss.
She was his angel.
His bright, beautiful, strong angel.
And it was time for her to gain her wings.
Time for him to gain his wings as well because he was the one responsible for saving Grace. Without him, she would have withered away into nothingness. Her rape would have destroyed her, he knew it the moment he heard her voice on the phone. But his games had helped her. The book of fables he’d read each night when he crept into Isabel’s room trying to calm her tears hadn't helped his sister, but it had helped Grace.
Saved her.
Turned her into his angel.
Now they were both free.
Free to face eternity together.
Jason hoped they found his sister when they passed on. Had she become an angel or had her taking her own life sent her straight to the Devil’s playground?
As much as he hoped he would be reunited with Isabel, so long as he had his angel Grace then he would be happy. His sweet, beautiful girl, he couldn’t wait to hold her again. Only this time it would be different, this time he wouldn’t have to be her teacher, she had already found her inner strength. This time they would be able to just be together.
He couldn’t wait.
Brushing the dirt from his hands, Jason set the shovel aside, resting it against one of the large trees standing guard on either side of Grace’s grave. It seemed only fitting that he do something special to mark this spot, his angel’s final resting place before she gained her wings.
While he wouldn’t be able to keep coming back here to visit—there would be no need to, they would both be together in the afterlife—he still wanted this place to be special.
A beautiful water feature. Perhaps an angel.
Yes, that would be perfect.
Jason took a look at his watch. Grace had probably five hours which should be more than enough time for him to take a quick shower, hop in his car, drive to the local garden nursery and find an appropriate water feature. Then all he had to do was bring it back, set it up out here, and then it was time.
There was no fear in him, he was ready for death.
For so long he had thought it was something to fear, but it had given Isabel a peace that nothing else—not him, nor their parents—had been able to give her. In fact, to her it had been the only thing that could provide her what she needed. Before Isabel’s suicide, he had thought death was a lonely thing. He’d thought you were all alone, but one night just days before Isabel’s death he’d been in her room and they’d talked. Jason had crept into her room most nights after her weeping woke him, and Isabel had told him that death wasn’t lonely it was the opposite.
It was never being alone again.
It was calm, soothing, peaceful, like sitting beside a stream on a warm summer evening. Fireflies were just starting to come out, the odd lazy cloud crept across the sky, the gentle sound of water tumbling over the rocks mixed with the sounds of crickets.
That was what death was like.
It was like forever being in that beautiful spot, surrounded by nature, only the best part was that the people you loved were there too.
Soon he and Grace would never have to worry about anyone coming between them again. No one would be sneaking into their home to steal her away from him. He was tying them together in the only way he knew that couldn’t be undone. He was joining them in death.
Once Grace’s memorial was finished it was his time to pass on.
With a smile on his face, he headed inside. He took a long drink of water, it was hot work digging, especially in the summer heat. Then he headed upstairs to his bathroom. Despite the dirt smudging his cheeks, and the sweat dotted on his forehead, he looked happy. There was a peace in his eyes that hadn't been there ever since the day of Isabel’s rape.
Jason still remembered that day. It was etched into his mind, his dad had taken him for another shooting lesson, and then they’d been tossing a football in the front yard, then the call had come in, Isabel had been hurt. They’d all rushed to the hospital, there had been no sitter to watch him, so his parents had taken him along. He had crept away while his parents were talking with the cops, he’d wanted to find his big sister, cheer her up like he always did when she was crying over some boy. Instead, he found her in a hospital gown, on a gurney, sobbing, her legs spread as a doctor worked between them.
He hadn’t understood then what was going on, but now he knew they were doing the rape kit.
That moment had stuck with him ever since.
How could a man hurt a woman like that?