"Thank you," I say pulling back and wiping my eyes with a paper towel. "Did Mom talk to you about me... and..."
"Kellan? Yes, she did," he says smiling. "You two are adults and capable of making your own decisions, so I'm not going to stand in your way. You've been good for Kellan."
"Of course, if we ever get married, you'll be my step father and father in law," I say with a laugh. Bruce waves his hand in front of his face.
"Can we please not talk about that?" he asks laughing.
***
Emmy sets up the camera in our living room, and I rearrange the chairs and open the blinds to give us more light for the shoot. I'm trying to keep my busy mind occupied and distracted from the fact that I'm about to put my story on tape for everyone to see. I can never hide from this again after today, and I know I'm ready for that. It's time to let Willow Blake live. Let her out of her box. Her prison. And today I bury Kate Lambert for good.
"Ready?" I ask my mother. She nods as Bruce holds her hand. Kellan is standing off in the doorway, and I think he's unsure of what to do. I'm running around like a headless chicken, doing my Journalism thing, and he's just smiling at me. That smile melts me every time.
"We're good to go," Emmy says.
"Okay," I say taking a deep breath and getting into my spot. "Ready when you are."
She hits the record button, and I see the red light go on. And then the words just fall out of me like they've been waiting to get out all along.
"Hello. My name is Willow Blake, and I'm the news director of DCTV. This program is about something we all need. Forgiveness. Whether you've cheated on a test or stolen or committed adultery, we can all ask for forgiveness from time to time. Many times, secrets keep us in chains and we we can't forgive ourselves. Today, I'm going to share the big secret that almost destroyed my life and the path I've taken to forgive myself and be forgiven by my own mother.
My secret? I killed my own father four years ago."
I go into details about the events leading up to my father's death. His poor choices, the man he really was at heart, the danger of street drugs and alcohol. I give the hotline number for domestic violence and other resources. Then, I interview my mother. She's so nervous at first, but she loosens up and tells her story.
I learn a lot about what she was thinking at that time four years ago. Things I didn't know. Things I was afraid to ask. At the end, we're both emotionally spent. Emmy ends the video and I hug my mother for a long time.
And then I fall into Kellan's arms, my safe place. My fairytale.
***
"Willow, this is amazing. But why did you decide to do this?" Reed asks incredulously as he turns the video off.
"I was tired of being in prison. You were right. I couldn't be free until I stepped out of my secret and claimed my own past. You helped me make that decision, so thank you," I say. He grabs my hands and squeezes them.
"I'm so proud to know you, Willow," he says before pulling me into a hug. "You're going to be fine. I have faith in you."
The irony is that Reed doesn't know what his father did, but by making this video I have freed Reed too. No longer can his father dictate his relationship with me. Even though it's a friendship and nothing else, Henry Tate Miller has no say so over it.
"Well, my plane leaves in a couple of hours. I've got to get going."
"Thanks for coming to say goodbye," I say looking into his big blue eyes. "Be happy, Reed. You deserve it."
"I want the same for you, Willow. Let love in, even if it isn't from me. Kellan is a lucky man, and if he ever screws up and forgets that, you know where to find me." My breath catches as he leans down and kisses me softly on the lips unexpectedly before walking out.
***
It's one in the morning, and it has been a long day. The news segment aired, and now Kellan and I are in the news all over town. But people have responded the opposite of what I'd feared. Support has been the predominant reaction for both of us. Our lives might just be okay after all.
"Whatcha thinking, beautiful?" Kellan says as I turn over in bed.
"About how good this all turned out," I say as I kiss his chest.
"It's all going to be good from here, baby. This is our new start. Our fairytale."
"Our sexy fairytale," I purr as I nuzzle his neck. I can't get enough of how he smells and tastes and feels.
"Ooohh... Sexy fairytale. I like that. Once upon a time..." he starts as he slides his hand between my legs, "there was this sexy girl who really wanted to have her boyfriend slide between her thighs..."
"Oh, I like this story," I say as he rolls over on top of me and stares down at me for a long moment. "What?"
"You were right about one thing."
"What's that?"
"We are both ruined. Perfectly ruined for each other," he says leaning down to kiss me.
That's what we can call it. Perfectly ruined for each other.
THE END
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the Author.
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