Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Kage wasn’t to blame for what was written in these reports. Nevertheless, he had demanded she take that folder with her and read through it. Every page, he said. To read it all, and understand it for herself. All it did was make the guilt within her simmer, then boil over. She, too, had secrets. Kage had done something that most wouldn’t. He’d told the truth about his ugly past, and he didn’t wait until they’d been together for several years before dropping the bomb.
How brave of him. He did the right thing. And I’m doing the wrong thing… She cracked her knuckles and looked about; her heart full of pain. I’ve never told anyone… He may not see me the same if I tell him! Aunt Huni says it’s the past, but it’s not a little thing. It’s a big deal. I really like him. I care about him. I’m falling in love… I don’t wanna lose him…
She opened the folder once again and thumbed through it. Only the outside lights from her house shone through the car’s interior, allowing her to see what was written on those papers. Inside that folder were endless accounts of his ruined boyhood. Stints in and out of mental institutions, the medications they’d forced down his throat, and how his mother was banned from visiting after making a scene one Sunday afternoon. She’d tried to get Kage discharged, but failed. Kage had even given her copies of some of his therapist sessions, which were transcribed. He talked in great detail about his upbringing, and the trauma he experienced in the pediatric mental institution which was now closed down.
He had the names of two nurses, a doctor, and an orderly that he hated, and subsequently filed civil suits against years ago. He’d won the majority of those cases. He also had the name of a nurse who treated him well, and tried to help him on the sly from time to time. Then she saw another file nestled within the larger one. He’d admitted he had a police record. He’d been arrested several times for assault. Once she read the details, it all made sense. For the most part, in every altercation, he was defending either himself, or other people. He was stepping up to the bullies and beating the shit out of them. Problem was, Kage seemed to have an aggression issue. He didn’t just beat people up—he tore them apart.
He had his share of young boy, dumb shit skirmishes too, bar fights and what not, but his arrests mostly seemed to be linked to trying to help the underdog. Though he had a record, she figured at least his efforts were admirable. He seemed to have grown out of such things beyond the age of twenty-six as he had nothing else on file, except for his divorce. Tossing the folder aside, she took a few deep breaths. She’d worked late and was physically exhausted, but at the same time, too mentally wound up to just go in the house and fall asleep.
“Oh, goodness… I’m a night owl, but this isn’t healthy. I gotta go to bed. I have an early day tomorrow.”
She yawned and tried to clear her mind. Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl), by Looking Glass played on the oldies station. Kage had asked to swing by after he finished some window repair work for a company that evening, but she told him tomorrow would be better. She’d known she was getting home late and figured it would be a waste of time. Now she regretted turning him away. She wanted to hold him, and to be held. She desired him, even more so after reading about his life of turmoil.
She turned the radio off, then the car, and got out of the vehicle, her feet dragging. Her purse on her shoulder, she made her way to the front door and unlocked it. She stepped inside and tried to be as quiet as possible, not wishing to wake Huni. Moving about in the darkness, she made her way to the kitchen and set her purse down on the counter, then turned on the light. Opening the refrigerator door, she removed a bottle of sparkling water, grabbed a glass from the drying rack, and filled the glass to the rim. She drank in the peace and quiet.
Maybe I’ll read a little, and take some melatonin? That should help me fall asleep.
As she finished her drink, she heard a soft thud. Like a small ball hitting the house. Drawing quiet, she listened. Just as she was satisfied that nothing was going on, and it may have been an animal—or perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her—she heard it again. Then again.
She set her glass down, trudged to the front door, but paused to grab her rifle from the back of the coat closet. Then, she went to the kitchen, unlocked a small safe, and loaded bullets into the chamber. As she did so, she heard another thud. This one much louder.