Enlightened

by Charlotte Michelle

  “I always told myself that it was impossible. That it was someone who just looked like your father. That was the only rational explanation. However, after you said you’ve been seeing Kyle, I know the truth. I believe you, Kayla.” Anne reaches over and grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze. I look up at her with watery eyes, nodding my head slowly.

  I’m thankful that she believes me. And I understand why she never told me about my father, because she had convinced herself it wasn’t him.

  Why does Mikey seem to keep showing up in every conversation?

  Now there are just more unanswered questions.

  Dallas holds me close to his side, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I have an arm around his waist, my fingers hooked around a belt loop. We walk through Naper Lights with Katie, Anne, and Tyler.

  It’s truly beautiful. Every year, they seem to impress me more and more.

  They decorate all of Naper Settlement in Christmas lights. There are lit archways and cute snowmen, Santas, reindeers, candy canes…trees are beautifully dressed with an assortment of colorful lights. Everyone is wearing smiles as they take in the display around them.

  “I love you,” Dallas whispers in my ear. I tilt my head to look up at him. He’s wearing a black Under Armor hat and a thick winter coat. His hands are lacking gloves, which caused him to get a scolding from me, especially since the hand resting on my shoulder is exposed to the cold air.

  I reach up and engulf his hand with my mitten-clad one, trying to warm it up. “Are you sure you’re okay that I told Anne?” I ask quietly.

  Dallas nods his head. “I’m glad you can confide in her, Kayla. It must be hard to hold this secret, and I’m happy that you can share it with someone.” I give Dallas a hug, resting my head on his chest. He’s always so selfless with me.

  “Merry late Christmas.” I twirl out of Dallas’s hold to see Kyle standing behind us. He wraps his arms around his body to keep warm against the December air. I feel a smile twitch on my lips. He’s finally here.

  I look over my shoulder to see Anne, Katie, and Tyler have stopped walking and are looking at me. “Anne…” I whisper. Understanding quickly registers across her features.

  “Let’s go get hot chocolate.” Anne quickly ushers Katie and Tyler away. Katie tries to argue and demands to know what’s really going on. I swear I heard Anne say something along the lines of, “Dallas and Kayla need some alone time.”

  Dallas stands beside me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his coat as he stares at Kyle. Kyle tries to smile; however, it doesn’t meet his eyes. He looks miserable.

  “We have to know,” Dallas says.

  “I’ve always enjoyed Naper Lights. I’m glad I got a chance to see them one last time,” Kyle whispers. I hate when he speaks like that. As if he’s reminding us that he is indeed dead and that someday, this will all end. And we will never see him again…

  “Kyle…”

  “Okay,” Kyle mutters, gazing down at the snow.

  I prefer the chipper, happy Kyle. The one that would run through my living room with his backpack hiked up on one shoulder with a goofy smile on his face. The Kyle that was overjoyed when I admitted to enjoying the Butterfinger Blizzard. Not the Kyle that is so pained that he can’t even look us in the eyes.

  Does getting closer to the truth hurt him? Because he knows that when we put the killer away, we will have to say goodbye to each other once and for all? Does he secretly wish that we will never find him?

  I secretly wish that.

  Does that make me a horrible person?

  Kyle’s peace would be the expense of such an outcome.

  “We have to know, Kyle,” Dallas whispers.

  Kyle lifts his eyes to look at us; they are so blue and lost, it hurts to look in them. I notice him gulp as he takes a step back. “I have to go.”

  No. No, he can’t do this again. He can’t just leave without us knowing!

  “Wait! You have to tell us! We have to know! Did he do it? Was it him?” Dallas’s voice is breaking as he bites his bottom lip to keep it from quivering. “Was it Mikey?”

  My stomach twists at Dallas’s question. We have both been convincing ourselves of the same accusation; however, hearing him ask out loud seems to make it all the more real.

  We watch as Kyle slowly fades away before us, but the one single, ghostly word he leaves behind sends chills running down my spine. “Yes.”

  Dallas breaks into a sob, and I hurry over to wrap my arms around him. He holds tightly to me, crying into the crook of my neck. I can’t understand his pain. How can I?

  Mikey has been Dallas’s best friend since elementary school. They have been playing basketball together since eighth grade. Mikey was another brother to both Dallas and Kyle. How could he do it? How could he kill someone that he watched grow up?

  I rub my hand in circles on Dallas’s back, trying to soothe him, but no amount of words or soothing massages will ease this pain. It’s a betrayal that Dallas wasn’t ready to face. It’s almost as if we’re just finding out about Kyle’s murder all over again.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Dallas says into my neck. I tense at his words, silently praying that he isn’t going to make them come true.

  “Don’t say that.” Dallas grabs my hips and then forcefully detaches me from him. I look up at Dallas in shock as I see a newfound anger settling on his face.

  “It’d be best if you stay here, Kayla.”

  Dallas takes a step back, his eyes daring me to follow him before he turns and bolts toward his Jeep Wrangler, leaving me stranded in the middle of Naper Settlement. People walk past me, a few looking over their shoulders to see the scene unfolding.

  I follow Dallas with my eyes until I lose him in the crowd. Gritting my teeth, I turn to look for Anne, Tyler, and Katie. They’re standing by the hot chocolate stand, and I run over. “Anne. I need your keys. Now.” I snap my fingers and wave my hands as she digs through her purse to toss me the keys to her new Chevy Impala. I clutch them tightly and give Katie a hug. “Stay with Anne and Tyler. I’ll be back in an hour to pick you guys up.” I turn and sprint to the parking lot.

  I search for the silver sedan, clicking the unlock button as I do so until I see flashing lights, alerting me of its location. Jumping in, I navigate my way through the parking lot until I hit the road. I drive down Aurora Avenue, heading straight for Mikey’s house. I silently congratulate myself for looking up his address a few days ago. I was on the verge of driving over to his house myself a while back to confront him.

  Dallas’s Jeep is already parked on the road, and he’s long gone inside the house. I throw the car in park and leap out, forgetting to turn the car off. At the moment, I don’t care. I throw the door open and bolt up the stairs in search of Mikey’s room.

  There, Dallas has Mikey in a choke hold, holding him up against a wall. “You killed him!” Dallas screams.

  Panting and out of breath, I force myself to run over and grab Dallas by the shoulders, yanking him off. “Stop,” I rasp.

  “He killed Kyle!” Dallas yells, pointing an accusatory finger at Mikey. His dark hair is ruffled, and his eyes are bewildered. Then he shakes his head.

  “I didn’t mean to kill him,” Mikey whispers, clenching his hands into fists at his side.

  “What do you mean? There was no mistaking that it was Kyle! How could you have not known?” Dallas rips himself from my grasp and lunges for Mikey.

  Mikey skillfully dodges Dallas’s punch and side steps him, moving so he’s standing between me and Dallas in a sort of triangle. “I meant to kill her!” Mikey confesses, pointing at me. My heart skips a beat as I look up at Mikey with complete trepidation. What did he mean? Why would he want to kill me? He didn’t know me!

  “What?” I ask, my question breathless and almost silent. Mikey’s eyes harden as he looks me up and down.

  “You were supposed to be with Kyle that night. Not Dallas. Kyle told me that you promised to take him on the Saturdays that Dallas worked. He w
asn’t supposed to request the twelfth off. I hired a hitman to be at the courts that night. To kill the girl.”

  “But I wasn’t there. Why would they kill Kyle?” I ask, ignoring for a moment that Mikey wants me dead. What matters now is figuring out why Kyle is dead.

  “I don’t know. I don’t,” he says to Dallas. “I asked him, that day at Lake Michigan. I asked him why he shot Kyle. He said he was paid to kill someone. Doesn’t matter if the target wasn’t in place, he had already pulled over and had the gun out. He had to shoot.”

  Dallas growls, and this time I don’t try to stop him as he runs forward, grabbing Mikey’s neck and shoving him against the wall. “Why? Why, Mikey? Why would you try to kill her? She’s an innocent girl!” Dallas screams, throwing punches to his ribs.

  Mikey moans, using Dallas’s hold as support as he leans his head back against the wall. His eyes droop closed, but he manages to keep them open to peek at me.

  “She and her mom ruined my life. And she doesn’t even know it.”

  My mom? What did my mom and I ever do to make his life miserable? I barely knew him until I befriended Dallas.

  “My dad wasn’t perfect. I know that. But I still loved him. I still loved him even though he left me and my mother for some whore and a daughter she claimed to be his!”

  “What?” I ask, my eyes wide.

  “You heard me. Your mom showed up one day. I was five, and you must have been four, almost five…I remember that day clearly. She claimed you were his daughter, and just like that, he ditched us for you. Divorced my mom and married yours. And then he died. He died, rushing home from a business trip to be here for your birthday. Your birthday! You killed him. I grew up knowing my father chose you over me, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. You weren’t about to take Kyle away from me as well!”

  Tears fall shamefully down my face as I look at Mikey, confessing his secret demons, his darkest past. I can’t help but feel sorry for him.

  I don’t want to believe anything he is saying. But the conversation Dallas and I had about him months ago entered my mind.

  “Where is Mikey’s dad? I only ever see his mom at the games,” I ask when Dallas wraps an arm around my shoulders, bringing me close and pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

  “His dad left when he was about six years old. He died two years ago in a car accident.” I couldn’t help but frown at Dallas’s words. My father had died two years ago in a similar situation. It seems Mikey and I suffer from the same loss.

  Is that why my father always went to the basketball games? For Mikey?

  Oh my God!

  “So, naturally, you have her killed?” Dallas asks, his voice painfully calm and sweet.

  “You were thinking the same thing, Dallas. Admit it. You wanted her gone. You couldn’t have some hussy taking Kyle from you.”

  Dallas shoves Mikey back into the wall and then throws a punch to his cheek. “Do not speak to her in such a manner ever again! In fact, after tonight, you’ll never speak to her again.” Dallas’s words are final, leaving no room for argument. “You killed my brother over sick vengeance. Tell me. Was it worth it?”

  I lift my eyes, meeting Mikey’s with a cold glare. Even though I hated him with everything in me, I can’t help but feel ashamed.

  Dallas was right from day one.

  It’s all my fault.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Three

  Tyler

  *Kayla*

  December 31, 2015

  Dallas is holding Mikey against the wall, screaming in his face a series of profanities. His anger chills me to the bone. Everyone knows of Dallas’s dark side. I was at the other end of it a few times. But seeing it again, after months of him working hard to change into someone else, it frightens me.

  “I’m going to kill him.”

  I can’t let that happen. No matter how much I hate Mikey for what he did, I can’t let Dallas harm him.

  “Dallas.” My voice is small and lost in the shouting. I step forward and say his name a little bit louder. Still, Dallas doesn’t relent. I notice Mikey turning blue from the lack of oxygen. “Dallas!” I cry, placing a hand on his shoulder and using all the strength I can muster to wrench him off Mikey.

  Dallas staggers back a few steps before he turns on me, lifting a fisted hand and aiming it at my face. I wince, throwing my hands up to block his blow. With one hit, Dallas could knock me out.

  A few seconds tick by, and everything is still. I peek out from my hands to see Dallas looking at me with wide eyes, his hand still in the same position. As if noticing my eyes zeroing in on his fist, Dallas instantly drops it and sucks in a horrified breath. His chest rises and falls rapidly as he looks around the room at the damage done.

  A lamp lies shattered on the floor, along with a few picture frames and an alarm clock. There is a hole in the wall where Dallas slammed Mikey’s head. I wince, looking down at the unconscious body at my feet. I resist the urge to kick him in the stomach.

  How dare he kill Kyle. How dare he try to kill me, someone he hardly knew. How dare he try to kill anyone, period.

  “I’m so sorry, Kayla. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” I turn my head to the sound of Dallas’s voice and let out a sigh.

  “It’s all right, Dallas.”

  “No. None of this is all right, Kayla. He killed Kyle, trying to kill you. How are you so calm? How can you just stand there and act as if everything is all right?” Dallas’s voice rises as he speaks.

  “I’m not calm, Dallas! But I’m trying to be, because you’re losing it right now! I’m so scared…I was the one who was supposed to die. They went to the cemetery for me! They were going to try to kill me again! So no, I’m not all right with any of this. I am terrified!” As if on cue, my nearly dried-out tear ducts begin to overflow.

  I have never been so unstable and insecure in my whole life. I now know that Mikey has a hired hitman after me. Everywhere I go, I will have to be looking over my shoulder in search for a black SUV. I am not safe.

  I bring up my hand to my mouth and begin to chew on my middle fingernail as tears roll down my cheeks. My eyes lift to stare into Dallas’s blue ones. They are so beautiful, even with all the anger and sorrow within them.

  Dallas takes a step forward and places a heavy hand on my shoulder. His fingers dig into my skin as he bends down so our eyes are level. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Kayla.” His promise is strong, and his voice doesn’t shake with uncertainty. “We will find a way to prove him guilty. We will lock him up. I promise you this, Kayla.” Dallas’s bottom lip begins to quiver, but he quickly bites it to hide it from me.

  We are both scared.

  When I nod my head, Dallas quickly leans down to place a kiss to my forehead and grabs my hand. “Let’s go.”

  Dallas leads me out of Mikey’s house, and when we reach the road, he gives me a tight hug before we go to our separate vehicles.

  I was right; the Chevy Impala is still running as I slide in the driver’s seat. I’ll have to give Anne gas money.

  Dallas follows me back to Naperville Settlement where Anne, Tyler, and Katie are waiting for us.

  It’s been almost two weeks now since that night. Two weeks since we confronted Mikey. Two weeks that I have been walking around with fear that a gun is pointed at my back.

  Two weeks since we saw Kyle.

  Dallas and I both silently assume that we may never see him again. We found out who the murderer is. He no longer needs to see us, to help us. Is he at peace? Is he at peace, knowing that we will make Mikey pay for his crime?

  I’m thankful it’s second semester of our senior year. With our college acceptances nearly set in stone, we don’t have to worry as much about keeping up our grades. Dallas, however, has remained on the basketball team. He is determined to see this team to State one last time.

  Mikey quit the team. He has been nonexistent. We see him every once in a while walking through the halls, but he has made no effort to resume thing
s as they were. Not that we assumed he would.

  Tyler, however, doesn’t relent on asking why there’s a rift between Mikey and Dallas. He has even cornered me a few times, demanding that I tell him. But it is not my place to tell Tyler. If Dallas wants him to know, he will tell Tyler in his own time.

  Even without the explanation, Tyler chose to remain friends with Dallas instead of Mikey. He must understand that whatever Mikey did, it was enough to ruin a lifelong friendship.

  That’s because it was.

  I confided in Anne. I told her everything, with Dallas’s consent. She was just as surprised as we were, asking the same questions.

  “How could Mikey do that?”

  “Why?”

  “Why would Mikey want you killed?”

  Anne has tried to help us figure out a way to get Mikey to confess to his crime. We considered her approaching him with a wire and goading him into confession.

  When we tried, Mikey only laughed and walked away. Of course, he would assume we’d do something like that.

  I asked Dallas if he could confide in Tyler, tell him everything. Perhaps we could then use Tyler as a double spy. Dallas seemed to have considered it for a moment but didn’t want to put Tyler into harm’s way. If Mikey found out, who was to say he wouldn’t put a target on Tyler’s back?

  I mentally shame myself for not thinking of recording the whole conversation in Mikey’s room. Why wasn’t I thinking in advance? Everything would be over now if I had done so.

  “Earth to Kayla.” Anne’s voice is distant, and I suddenly see a hand waving in front of my face. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I look over at Anne. She’s sitting across the lunch table from me, her eyebrows raised. “You still here with us?”

  “Sorry. Just thinking.” I turn to gaze at Dallas. He offers me a small smile and places a hand over mine.

  “Well, I was thinking we should look for a cabin to rent out for Prom. One with a lake. We could spend two nights there, go swimming and what not,” Tyler says, biting into his sandwich.