Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,128
asked dully.
“Tomorrow. I persuaded him you needed a little more rest before you could deal with the interview.”
“Thanks. I guess that gives me some time to figure it all out.”
My mother spoke this time. “Maybe if you told us what happened, we could help you.”
I toyed with the bagel still on my plate. “I thought Michael and everyone told you.”
“They did. Well, of course, Cara and her dad were fuzzy on some aspects, since they don’t know the full story. But we heard their side, at least. Now we’d like to hear it from you.”
I drew in a deep breath. “I assume Michael told you that I wasn’t completely honest with you about what happened with Nell at the dance. I know you’re upset about that, and I’m sorry. But I was afraid that you’d over-react—that you’d pull me out of school, or keep me away from Michael—something like that.”
“Have we ever given you cause to believe that we’d be so unreasonable, Tas? I can’t think that we have.”
“You haven’t exactly been completely supportive about my relationship with Michael, and we don’t see eye to eye on my abilities lately. I was afraid it would be the last straw.”
“Of course we would have been very upset, Tas. The idea of you and Michael taking something like this into your own hands—well, it’s irresponsible.”
“But what would you have done if I’d come to you with the information I had? You would have told me to stop listening to Nell. You would have probably sent me off to boarding school.”
My father sighed in exasperation and my mother rolled her eyes. “No need for melodrama, Tasmyn.”
“You want the story, and I’m just telling you how I feel. That’s why I did what I did. So then when I heard Nell again on Wednesday…”
I shared the entire story, from overhearing Nell in History to when I passed out in the clearing, after all my rescuers had arrived. My parents were silent throughout the telling; if a few questions flared now and then in their minds, I was able to block them. When I finished, we were all exhausted.
Finally, my father spoke. “Tasmyn… what you did was extraordinarily dangerous. You put yourself at risk, and consequently you put other people at risk. I’m trying to look at it from your perspective, trying to think of what in your background, in how we raised you, would make you think that you could handle this on your own or that you couldn’t tell us the truth. But I have to tell you, I’m having trouble figuring it out.”
“It’s not that we’re not proud of you, on some level,” my mom interjected. “You were incredibly brave, and very resourceful. But you risked so much—not once, but twice—and it could have ended so differently.” She closed her eyes against the sudden tears I saw leaking out the corners and covered her mouth with her hand. “Tas, I have never been so frightened in all my life.”
I swallowed hard over a lump in my own throat and tried not to cry. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
We were all quiet for a time, and then my dad cleared his throat. “I think we’ve had enough for today. We’re all tired and more than a little emotional. Let’s wait and see what happens tomorrow after you talk with the detective.”
I nodded. “Can I ask just one more thing?”
My father patted my arm. “Of course you can.”
“Where is Nell now? What happened to her?”
My parents exchanged glances, and the buzz factor of their thoughts went up several notches. I frowned and tuned them out with a great deal of effort.
“As far as we know, Nell is in police custody. However, apparently she was pretty out of control after they took her in, and the detective said something about moving her to a mental health facility.”
“But she’s—she’s not just out there, right? She’s not free?”
“No, Tas. Don’t worry. I promise, you’re safe from Nell. She won’t be able to hurt you again.”
That was true in theory. Actually, though, Nell still had the power to haunt my dreams.
Michael arrived just after dinner, having promised both his parents and mine that he would only stay for one hour. We sat on the front porch; I knew my parents weren’t letting me out of their sight any time in the near future.
He held my hand and kept his eyes glued to my face, as though I might disappear at any moment.