Only when everyone was gone, the dust settled and the fire had started to die down, did Clutch turn, walk to the SUV and get in it. Without a word he drove away… again with the feeling of not knowing what just happened.
“What just happened?” I gasped.
“That man made his intentions clear.” Marvin grumbled.
I jumped, forgetting that they were there with me. I heard the screen door open and close and then Trevor came up beside me.
“Well, I think he just got rid of the last person… the last group of people who hurt you.”
And then he turned and I was alone on the front porch. The setting sky going from orange to purple. I moved without thinking, walking towards the burning leather and on the top of the pile was his name. The patch looked like it had been stripped from my cut, but he had thrown it last. I don’t know how long I stood and watched the fire burn our past to ash. I stood there until the sky turned dark and the fire went out.
When I finally turned back towards the house, rubbing at the ache in my chest that had been bothering me for too long… for a moment I let the small flicker of hope ignite within me. I let myself think… What if?
What if he walked away from everything I told him I couldn’t go back to…
What if he was here for me…
If Clutch and Bex were gone? What then?
That is all I thought about all night… all the what ifs… all the possibilities that I wasn’t sure that I should want… wasn’t sure I should dare hope for.
I thought I was still dreaming when I woke up the next morning and could swear I heard Clutch talking to Marvin in the kitchen. But that didn’t make sense,did it?
I got dressed quickly and hurried down the stairs. When I turned the corner to the kitchen, a site I never imagined seeing came into view. Clutch was at the kitchen table sipping on coffee with Marvin, while Trevor glared at him from his spot leaning against the counter.
Everyone’s attention snapped to me when I cleared my throat.
Clutch stood, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a grey t-shirt. He smiled at me, saying, “Sorry to bother you. I am new to town and wanted to introduce myself to your family.”
Wait…What?
“You’re new to town?” I managed to get out.
He smiled and took a few steps towards me, both Marvin and Trevor with very different expressions on their faces watching him.
“Yes. I am renting the house just down the road from your gym.”
I had no idea what to say, so I just stood there blinking at him…
He took the final few steps towards me and stook out his hand in my direction. I didn’t think, I just reached my hand out in his direction.
He wrapped his big warm hand around mine, a hopeful smile on his face when he said, “My name is Declan, nice to meet you.”
“Declan?” I whispered trying to fight back the tears.
He nodded, taking a small step closer to me, my hand still engulfed in his. “And what is your name?” he asked.
What is my name?
I looked around the room, at Marvin and Trevor. I looked back at Declan and thought about everything I had learned.
I amsafe…I can be anyone I want to be.
Whodo I want to be?
I thought about the girl names on the computer screen, about the childhood and life I never got to have, about Rebecca and everything I had built.
I amfree. I can be anyone…