All the Dark Corners

by Emerald O'Brien

I did so many things—bad things—usually to get a man’s attention. Perry, my Dad, Albert. I wanted something from all of them. Their validation or their support. I thought I needed it.

  But the one man I never had to chase is standing in front of me, bearing his soul to me, telling me his darkest secret because he thinks I deserve to hear the truth. Because the lie has weighed heavy on him, just like my deeds have on me.

  “I forgive you,” I tell him. “I thought I was a bad person because of the town. So many people are here, but I was wrong.”

  “You’re not leaving?”

  “No, I’m leaving. I was wrong that it’s the town’s fault. It’s ours, Will, and it’s theirs.” I turn to the group, watching, and from the corner of my eye, I see my mom standing with her cane just outside her front door. “The town reveals who we truly are. I was lost and hurt, scared, and looking for love in the worst places. I tried to numb my pain, shame, and guilt away, but it bubbled up to the surface when I came back, and with the help of my dear old mom.”

  I turn to her. “I didn’t drive you and Dad apart. You did it to yourselves. You wanted me to blame myself and feel guilty because it brought us closer. Made my mind easier to mold. You did it. You got me to come back, but I know the truth now, Mom.”

  She’s standing in the shadows, and I can’t see her face, but she doesn’t say or do anything. Just stands there watching me, and she can try to hide, but it’s all been brought to light. Almost.

  I turn back to Will. “You ready to keep that promise you made now that Stacy is back? To leave here with me for good?”

  He nods.

  I take his hand in mine and pull the handcuffs out of my pocket.

  “Sam?” he asks, but he doesn’t pull away.

  I hand him the cuffs. “It was my mom.”

  Will turns to my mom, but I focus on him. “She wanted me to stay, so she took Stacy. She kept her in the basement, probably gave her medicine to keep her sleepy, and held her there so we’d all come together and look for her. She followed me when I went to the cemetery. Brought Stacy and made it so I’d be the one to find her.”

  “Mary?” Mitsy calls across the yard.

  “You took my daughter?” Will shouts.

  “No!” Mom shouts back. “I’d never!”

  “Will,” I say, just above a whisper, and we make eye contact. “Get Stacy.”

  He turns back toward the house, walking in between his parents.

  “Will,” Mitsy says, “Please don’t.”

  He walks past them to the house, and I run to my mom’s Ford, grabbing my bag from the seat.

  “Sam!” Mom calls. “You stop it with all the lies and come here right now!”

  I throw my bag over my shoulder and run across the lawn, past the neighbors, as Will carries Stacy through the door in his arms.

  “William,” Ted says and grabs his arm.

  He tries to shake it away, but Ted grabs both his arms, and Mitsy reaches out for Stacy. Will presses Stacy’s head against his chest and tries to force his way through, but they won’t let him.

  I take the gun from my jeans, point it toward the back fields, and squeeze the trigger.

  Everyone jumps at the bang, even me, but it gives time for Will to open the car door and put Stacy in the back seat. He closes the door and walks me to the passenger door as I meet him.

  I hold the gun up, clicking the safety on, and aim it at the crowd as they circle in close.

  “Samantha Tillman! You can’t leave me!” Mom shouts. “Not now! Not with them!”

  Mitsy rushes across the lawn, but Mom steps back toward the door, trying to get inside before she reaches her.

  I know it’s the last time I’ll see her, scrambling to escape the repercussions from all the damage she caused.

  But you won’t, Mom.

  The vultures are here.

  They’ve been here all along.

  You should know that best.

  You’re one of them, and you’ll pick each other apart.

  I don’t need a second look as Will opens the door for me, and I duck inside. He takes the gun from my hand, and Ted calls out to him, but he doesn’t stop as he rounds the front of the car. As he gets in beside me, he twists the key in the ignition and turns over his shoulder as he backs out of the driveway.

  “It’s okay, Bunny,” he tells Stacy as she stares up at us with a tired expression.

  He shifts into drive, and we roll down Cherry Street, the deep blue night sky above us and uncertainty ahead. My heart races as I turn over my shoulder and see Stacy’s head resting against the seat. Her eyes flutter open and closed, and her little mouth hangs slightly agape.

  “Go to sleep, Stacy Bunny,” I whisper.

  I can be there for her, now. I will be.

  “My place first,” Will says, “and then?”

  I reach for his hand. I can’t say whether their eyes are on us, getting one last look as we turn onto Gilbert Road, or if they’re circling in on my mom, and I don’t care.

  I’m not looking back anymore. I squeeze his hand and turn to him. “And then, we go somewhere far away from here.”

  Thank you for reading All the Dark Corners, a Crimson Falls novella. If you enjoyed Emerald’s work, please share your experience by leaving a review where you purchased the story.

  Original Sin by Greta Cribbs

  The Last Dupont by Rachel Renee

  All the Dark Corners by Emerald O'Brien

  Flawed Plan by Amabel Daniels

  Returned Home by Julie Strier

  Sight in the Dark by AM Ialacci

  Stranger in the Woods by Kiersten Modglin

  Little Girl Lost by Laurèn Lee

  Join the Crimson Falls Reader Group on Facebook for more behind the scenes details, exclusive information, and a community to discuss all the novellas in:

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrimsonFallsReaderGroup/

  Thank you to my formatter and dear friend, Jade Eby, and my cover designer, Alora Kate of Cover Kraze Designs, for the exceptional visual components of this novella. To Krista at Mountains Wanted Publishing Services, for your editing and insights, I thank you. I’m so grateful for your help.

  I have an immense amount of appreciation for my beta-readers: Jade Eby, Christie Lee, Greta Cribbs, and Kiersten Modglin. Your opinions and insights are invaluable. Thank you for challenging and supporting me during this process. Thank you to my early readers for being on my team and to the readers in our Crimson Falls Facebook Reader Group for your contagious excitement about this series.

  To my Crimson Falls author colleagues, thank you for your support. I’m proud to call you my friends and grateful for our time spent together creating this town and the people who live there, telling their stories and working together to form a world that we could all play within. Though our time creating comes to a close… for now… we’ll always have Crimson Falls.

  For the continued support of my family, friends, and husband. I am forever grateful and I love you all. Each and every person in my life who has supported me and my writing career hold a special place in my heart. Thank you to my true-blue readers, newsletter subscribers, and my reader group on Facebook for sticking with me, for your curiosity, and for your company on this journey.

  From the bottom of my heart, I’m honored to share this experience with all of you.

  Emerald O'Brien was born and raised just east of Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from her Television Broadcasting program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. As the author of unpredictable stories packed with suspense, Emerald enjoys connecting with her passionate readers.

  When she is not reading or writing, Emerald can be found with family and friends. Watching movies with her husband and snuggling with their two beagles is one of her favourite ways to spend an evening at home.

  To find out more, visit Emerald on her website:

  www.emeraldobrien.com

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  Find Emerald’s latest series, The Knox and Sheppard Mysteries, on her website along with her entire book list here:

  http://www.emeraldobrien.com/allbooks