Zack's family was loaded, so they spared no expense on a lawyer, but there's only so much you can do when the evidence is there. With Emma's testimony, which absolutely broke my heart, the charges against me were eventually dropped. Zack was sentenced to twenty years, and every second I sat in the courtroom, I wanted to wring his neck. His lawyers argued that Emma was intoxicated and that she willingly went out of the house with him.
She did that because she trusted him. I can assure you that what I saw was not consensual, not to mention she was a minor. She had turned eighteen long before the trail, though.
With every second of that monster trying to slut shame Emma to clear his name, I wanted to pounce. Risk everything. Go to jail right next to him, so I could torment him every day for the rest of his miserable life.
"You in there?" Emma asks, waving her hand in front of my face.
I nod, "Yeah, I'm just so proud of you. You've come a long way."
She smiles shyly, "Thanks to Ty."
"No," I correct, "Thanks to you. Sure Ty helped, but your strength is all you."
"You're strong too, ya know."
I shake my head in denial, "I'm a mess."
She winces, "Yeah, you kinda are."
I pick up the dish towel and toss it at her, laughing, "Shut up, squirt."
"What are you going to do? You know, about Karly?"
"I guess I'll sit back and watch as she rides off into the sunset with your friend, Caleb. It would be better for everyone involved."
She scoffs, "Ha. Except for you."
"I just want to make her happy. She'd be better off if we never happened. She'd have her best friend, probably be dating some stud muffin influencer with a thigh tat."
Emma tosses the towel back at me, "You are a total stud muffin, and you make her happy, E. Everyone with eyes can see that."
"What about the people without eyes?"
She shoves my arm hard, "Even in darkness, I'm sure the love can be felt."
"Love?"
She laughs, "Well, I thought you were going to break poor Caleb's hand that night. So yeah, I'd say love."
I stare at the counter and think about what she said.
Three months ago, I hit a low point. I questioned everything. And then quietly, like the eye of a storm, Karly came around and flooded my mind with thoughts I didn't even know were possible. A peacefulness I didn't know was possible, and I felt content for the first time. Which made me realize that everything I'd felt prior to her was leading me here, here, to this exact moment.
"Say hypothetically that you are right… say I do love her. How do I make it right?"
Emma straightens the napkin under her drink, "I think the best place to start would be Hanna."
"She won't speak to me."
Emma shakes her head, a smirk falling to her lips, "So make her. Make her listen, big brother."
I tilt my head to the ground, defeated, "How?"
She stands up, making her way to the ceramic bowl on the console table near the door, and raking my truck keys out.
"Here," She tosses them at me and opens the front door. "Go fix it."
I only hesitate for a split second but ultimately end up in the truck and on my way to Legacy Bay. The closer I get to the house where I've spent most of my time the past few years, my breathing begins to escalate. Not because I'm nervous about seeing Hanna after what happened, but because I'm afraid I'll see Ellie. One solid look from that little girl, and I am nothing but mush. I don't know how I'm going to explain what happened to her, but I'm prepared to try.