REprisal - Kathy Coopmans Page 0,70
her. So I planned, waited as long as I could to help Clove escape and get back to her life with my brother and their baby, but Tina fucked that shit up, too.
A picture of Tina leaving her house last night pops up on the television screen, her car swarmed by the media as she tries to weave her way out of her gated driveway. She’s free and here I am stuck in this bed with no way to warn or help Clove and her family. I flick the television off, not wanting to see any more of this shit. Instead, I turn my gaze to the window and enjoy one of the last days I will see the sun rising.
I’m smart enough to know I will be spending the rest of my life in prison for the crimes I have committed. I deserve it. I took an innocent family, my own family, and tore their lives apart, all for money.
I don’t feel sorry for myself, not one goddamn bit. I feel sorry for the mother and brother I will never know because it was me who brought this to their doorstep. Me, who became so obsessed with wanting the life that Turner had to be my own. I cannot erase this past year. I’m helpless, trapped in a room just like Clove was. And now I know exactly how she felt to be separated from the people you love. I haven’t seen her beautiful face for days now. I miss everything about her. I always will.
I think back to a few days ago when Tina told me she was taking Clove and Journey, either with or without me. I did my best to try and convince her to just take Journey and leave. We fought hard, screaming and yelling at each other. The realization that I was trying to save Clove tipped her over the edge. She pulled out her gun and shot me point blank in the stomach.
Such a fool I was. I should have beaten the shit out of her, or grabbed my own gun and blown her fucking head off, then taken the two of them and run while I had the chance. Instead, all I could do was claw my way down the stairs to the front door in a trail of blood, trying not to pass out from the pain as I tried to get to them before it was too late.
That mistake will haunt me forever. I should have stopped this way before that day ever came, but my selfishness in wanting to keep Clove stood in the way. Now all I have left is hope. Hope that Clove and Turner and their beautiful little daughter can move past this and live. Hope that the love that they have for each other can survive. I’m confident that being home with her family again is a start to help to heal, to have everything she deserves and more.
A knock at my door takes me away from these painful thoughts. My head turns toward the sound as I watch the FBI agent assigned to keep watch over me go to answer it. The door closes as he steps out and the sound of Clove’s brother’s loud voice has me wincing in pain as I push the button on the bed to sit myself up. I refuse to take pain meds. The pain I welcome, I deserve.
The door opens and in walks Zack followed by my lawyer and several agents, along with the District Attorney and my doctor. The lawyer I have spoken only a few words to. I don’t need him. I plead guilty, so why in the hell is he even here?
“What the hell is going on?” I say through gritted teeth, the pain so damn intense in my stomach, it’s difficult to even breathe.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on, asshole. Your lovely girlfriend disappeared last night. Any idea where she might be?”
Zack’s heated glare along with the hot tone of his voice pisses me the hell off.
“How the fuck would I know where she is? I knew this shit would happen. I fucking knew it would. Now she won’t stop until she has her revenge on Clove. Jesus Christ.”
I sink back into my pillows, my thoughts immediately going to Clove’s safety. I would give anything to be able to see her right now, if only to make sure she was all right.
“You let me worry about my sister, you’re nothing to her. Now