Regretting You (Blackthorn Elite #4) - J.L. Beck Page 0,32

change.

“Kennedy, is that you?” I know that voice. The softness of it. For a long time, Jillian and Jackson’s mom was like a second mother to me. I can’t tell you how many times I slept over at their house. How often she made me pancakes or bandaged up my scraped knees. Still, seeing her after what I did, all those good memories are tarnished by the one bad thing I did.

I really don’t want to turn around because I know Mrs. Wislow isn’t alone. Her husband is here, and Jackson is definitely here. This is slowly becoming an actual living nightmare.

Building up the courage, I turn around and come face to face with Trish. Her eyes become glassy when she sees my face, and she rushes toward me, wrapping her arms around me as if I didn’t kill her daughter. As if there isn’t tons of misery and pain between our two families.

“Kennedy,” my father calls my name sternly, but I’m an adult now. Not some kid that can be pushed around. If I want to hug Trish, then I will.

“You look good,” she says, pulling away, her emotions written all over her face. It’s stupid of me, but I chance a look around her and find Jackson’s green eyes feral and honed in on me. He’s not even bothering to cover up his disdain of me. “I’m so happy you’re here and going to school.”

“We’ll be at the table, sweetie,” my mother leans forward and whispers into my ear. I can’t see my father’s face since my back is to him, but I’ll bet he looks close to murder. He and Jackson probably have matching facial expressions.

“We… We don’t have to do this,” I tell her, the wounds of my past becoming raw as she stands before me.

Ken, her husband, walks up to me as well, leaving Jackson to stand alone, his arms crossed over his chest, a sinister look flickering in his eyes.

Trish wipes away a couple stray tears that have escaped her eyes. “There is nothing to do, honey. Ken and I, we just, we had tried to reach out to you before, but your parents said you moved away. We wanted to let you know that we forgive you.” She places her hands on my shoulders as if she knows I need the weight to hold me to the ground.

“You… you forgive me?” I’m shocked. That is not how I envisioned this would go.

Ken nods, his eyes are soft, and the same color green as Jackson’s. “Jillian loved you like you were her sister, and we know you loved her too. We’ve come to terms with the fact that it was a horrible accident, and sometimes things happen that are out of our control. We miss her every single day, but hating you, or being mad about it isn’t going to change that she’s gone. Jillian wouldn’t have wanted us to treat you that way. You’re like a daughter to us. Losing Jillian wasn’t a choice, something out of our control, but we can control our relationship with you.”

Tears fill my eyes, but I blink them away. I will not cry. Trish smiles at me, and her smile reminds me of Jillian’s. She was always so happy, even when everything looked like it was headed south, she made the best of a shitty situation. She was smart beyond her years.

“I thought you would hate me forever,” I manage to whisper.

“Oh, sweetie, we are sorry, and I’m sorry we didn’t come to the trial. At the time, we were just too hurt and grieving too heavily to go,” Trish pauses, “we lost Jillian that night, yes, but we didn’t lose you, and we kind of forgot that at the time.”

My throat tightens. What do I say to that? I can’t even get my brain to form a coherent response. They shouldn’t be apologizing to me. I should be apologizing to them, and yet my tongue feels like it’s weighed down with concrete.

Somehow, I get a response out, “I… I’m so sorry. I love you both, and I loved Jillian so much. I miss her every day. Every single day,” I tell them, damn near breaking out into a sob. Forcing myself to breathe, instead of falling face-first into my emotions, I slowly get myself.

Trish’s lips quiver, and I know she wants to cry too. “I would love to have lunch together sometime. Catch up? I want to hear all about your life since you disappeared with