Page 95 of The Quiet After The Fall

Knox opens his arms and I fall into them without a word. I can’t take much more of this. Either we settle this shit together, or I do it solo. Either way, I’m getting my life back.

The next several days blur together in a strange, tense rhythm. Knox disappears for hours at a time. Legal meetings, Ella placating, the shuffling he has to keep up at home and work without arousing suspicions. Meanwhile, I stay tucked away at Miriam’s, building whatever case I can from a distance. Gia’s become my partner in crime, ferrying documents back and forth between me and our instructor, Irene, who agreed to look over the paperwork without asking too many questions about why a student is suddenly obsessed with old case files. I wanted to get her opinion before I brought it all to my lawyers.

Knox contacted an attorney he trusts, someone who used to work for his family before falling out with Richard, and slowly, piece by piece, we start building something that somewhat resembles a case.

It’s fucking exhausting. But it’s also keeping me going. Without it, I’d be pacing these four walls, slowly losing my shit.

Then there’s the wedding date looming over the whole thing. I have no idea how we’ll get out of that with it being so close. Every time I try to talk to Knox about it, he says he’s handling it.

I’m too stressed to argue.

By the end of the week, I start to feel like this house is a cell. I stare at my phone, knowing I’m about to fuck up, but willing to take the risk for both my sanity and to get that letter. I text my mom to meet me at a little diner I found online. It’s two towns over, somewhere we’ve never been. It should be safe.

I have to Uber there after walking through the woods to a pick up spot. Knox is probably going to flip when he figures out I left. Knowing him, he’s tracking me again, and will know I’ve left sooner rather than later.

Mom’s already waiting in a booth when I arrive. As soon as she spots me, she’s up and pulling me into a tight hug. My eyes get damp. I can’t help it. It’s nice to see her.

That’s short-lived, though. The second she opens her mouth, I regret coming.

“You look tired.” She pulls back to scrutinize me. “What the hell is going on with you?”

I don’t know if it’s the exhaustion, the fear, or the sheer relief of finally being able to say it out loud to someone I trust, but words come tumbling out of me at once.

I tell her about Knox and me, and what’s happened between us since the accident. That we’ve been together, in every sense of the word, for weeks now. That it’s complicated in so many more ways than I’d ever imagined.

Her face goes through the gamut of emotions, but she stays quiet…for now.

I tell her about the real cause of the accident. That Dad remembered details, that he flagged the danger years before Velocity ever opened, and that Richard buried it. That the man everyone in Ashford worships as a saint is the reason Owen’s dead, and now he’s trying to silence me.

She covers her mouth and curses under her breath. “Oh my God.”

“That’s not even the half of it,” I say, playing with the edge of the menu to give my hands something to do. “I don’t want you to worry, okay? We’ve got this handled.”

“You’ve got it handled?” She lets out a humorless laugh, shaking her head. “Sawyer, you’re telling me Richard Aldrich is trying to silence you, and I’m supposed to just not worry? You don’t know that man like I do.”

“I need you to trust me on this.” I push the menu to the side and meet her eyes. “The less you know about the specifics, the safer you are. I don’t want to keep secrets from you, but I have to. Please, Mom.”

Her jaw tightens, reminding me of the Mom who used to fiercely stand in the way of anything or anyone trying to hurt me. “I don’t like this.”

I shake my head. “I don’t either. It’s fucking insanity. But it’s already in motion, and we’re doing something about it instead of just giving in.”

“You mean, you and Knox?”

“Yes.” I brace for her full reaction now. Mom loved Owen. She had every reason to. He was the only one who was there for us through the worst years of our lives. He was our rock. And Knox…well, she probably doesn’t have anything good to say about him over the last few years. But I know she loved him like a son once, and that love is still there somewhere, hidden behind a wall of pain.

The server comes to take our order, both of us just asking for coffees. As soon as she steps away, Mom places her hands on the table, fidgeting with her cuticles. “I’m not going to pretend I’m okay with this. Owen was so good to us. Better than good. And Knox, the last few years, he’s been so angry, so shut off. I stopped recognizing the boy I used to babysit half the summer.”

“That’s still him, Mom. Underneath it all. And Owen…” I hesitate, not wanting to sully her opinion of the boy she adored. “He wasn’t perfect.”

The server pours our coffee into mugs and I focus on adding milk and sugar. Her eyes are damp when I look back up at her. I’m about to ask if she’s okay, when she wraps her hands around her mug and responds.

“Maybe Knox is still that boy, but Baby Girl, I need to tell you something. Something I’m not proud of.”

I reach for her hand, and she covers it with her own. “You’re freaking me out.”

“Just listen.” I nod, and she exhales long and hard. “After everything happened with your father, when the whole town turned against us, I made some mistakes.” Her eyes stay fixed on the table between us. “Richard and I had an affair. It didn’t last long, just a few months. We were both drowning in the mess your father made. Neither of us was thinking straight.”

She pauses, and I pull my hand back. This should be hitting me harder, but somehow it’s not all that shocking. It’s terrible, and wrong, but it makes sense. Except Richard was never a victim. He took advantage of her pain and I hate him even more now.