Seeing Ghosts
Chapter 7
By Dottie
Copyright 2015
Early Christmas morning, Grant Desmond lets himself into the cottage, the eerie silence making his heart pound. He reaches under his coat and pulls out his pistol. He walks slowly through the house, his eyes darting around taking in every detail.
When he pushes the door to the kitchen open, he stops short. The hand holding his side arm falls as he takes in the sight before him. Chealyn is lying on the middle of the floor, her eyes open and empty. He holsters his gun and kneels beside her. "Chealyn...Elena?"
She blinks slowly, turning her gaze to him. "Why?"
Her hoarse whisper nearly breaks his heart. "It's not your fault."
Her eyes drift downward, her tears long since dried up. "I never should have left him."
Grant reaches for her arm. "Come on; let's get you off this cold floor."
She allows him to pull her up and lead her into the living room. She sits on the couch, barely aware of him moving to the fireplace to get a fire going in the chilly room.
Once he's got the fire going, he turns back to Chealyn. She looks up at him. "Where are they?"
He kneels in front of her, gently taking her hand. "Don't...Chealyn..."
She snaps at him. "My name is Elena! Where are they? Where are Kevin and my babies?"
He expected sadness and anger. He doesn't want to tell her the cold hard truth, but considering Kevin was well known, there will be full news coverage and she'll know anyway. "They haven't been able to get to the plane yet."
He sees her lip quiver. "I shouldn't have ever left him. I should have left California with him and none of this would have had happened."
He sighs. "You couldn't let Sawyer get away with..."
She jerks her hand from his and jumps up, screaming. "He did get away with it! He's out, free as a bird and my family is dead!"
Grant stands and grabs her shoulders tightly. "He won't get away with it. There will be another trial..."
She pushes him away. "You think I'm going to testify again? You said they'd be ok."
He knows she won't believe him right now but he tries. "Listen to me, Sawyer had nothing to do with this. It was just a freak accident." Her body starts to tremble and he whispers, "Elena, it wasn't because he saw you or you saw him. It was just...an accident."
She sniffles, fresh tears pooling on her lashes. Grant takes her into his arms as she collapses. "Grant, my babies! Kevin! Why couldn't it have been me?"
He holds her tightly. "Shh, don't think about it that way Elena. Please." As she sobs into his chest, he rubs her back and whispers, "I got a call from his friend...Nick. He wanted to make sure you knew...Kevin loved you and he said your love was the greatest gift he ever had. And DJ and Sophie...he...Elena, he was thrilled about them...and seeing you. He...Nick wanted you to know that Kevin..."
She steps away from him, looking at him through her tears. "It's not fair Grant. I loved him so much. I loved them all so much."
He cups her face and whispers, "And he loved you."
The next few hours, Grant lets her talk when she wants to. He lets her cry and rage. There's nothing else he can do. Around midnight, she's cried herself to sleep and he makes his way quietly to the kitchen. He makes himself a cup of coffee and a sandwich before taking out his phone to make calls.
An hour later he knows they found the wreckage of the plane and search and rescue is underway. The spotter plane that found the wreckage said there was evidence of a fire…meaning there’s a good bed any remains to be found possibly won’t be identifiable.
After he finishes eating, he goes back into the living room, finding Chealyn awake. She’s sitting up hugging a throw pillow staring off into space. He sits beside her. “Elena?”
She sniffles and turns to look at him. “Don’t…I’ll never be Elena again. Kevin’s gone. DJ and Sophie are gone. Elena needs to be gone too.”
He reaches for her arm. “Don’t. Don’t do this now.”
She shivers and he slides closer, putting his arm around her. She lays her head on his shoulder. “Grant I can’t live without them.”
He squeezes her. “Don’t say that. I…if I could bring them back for you…you know I would. I’d do anything.”
She starts to sob. In an aching whisper, she says, “I need…I need to go see them. His family…Nick…I just…Grant, please let me go to them.”
He stiffens. “But Sawyer…”
She pushes away and stands “What can he do to me now Grant? There’s no one left to protect! I’ll go public with what I saw him do and if something happens to me, you’ll have him for MY murder!” He starts to protest, but she turns and runs from the room screaming, “I’m going and you can’t stop me!”
Grant follows her to the bedroom and watches as she throws clothes into a suitcase. He leans against the door jam and in a quiet voice says, “I’ll take you to them Elena.”
She stops moving, turning to face him. “Don’t call me that.”
He turns back to her. “But it’s who you are.”
She shakes her head. “No. Elena died with Kevin and her children. I don’t ever want to hear that name again.”
He nods. “OK Chealyn. I’ll…I’ll take you to Kentucky. But…about Sawyer…”
She shakes her head. “I mean it, I won’t hide anymore. I’ll testify again if I have to but I won’t hide again.” The venomous tone of her voice makes him step back. She sees his reaction and whispers, “Grant, I don’t blame you…it’s all my fault. Kevin…Kevin would want me to do what’s right and I will…but I’m not hiding anymore.”
He nods slowly. “I understand…can we…is it ok if we’re still friends? Even if I’m not protecting you?”
His question knocks down another wall blocking the pain and she starts to sob, running into his arms. “Oh Grant why did it have to happen?”
He cries with her. Chealyn’s been like a sister to him. His job was to protect her, but they grew to be good friends too. His voice is husky with emotion when he whispers, “I wish I knew why.”
After a few minutes she steps back. “Can you…will you really take me?”
He nods. “I will. Chealyn, we can’t make you stay in the program. And we can’t make you testify. It’s your decision.”
She nods. “I’ll do it. You know I will. Kevin…it’s the right thing to do. But I don’t want to hide anymore. I need…I need to be with Kevin’s family…with his friends. I…Grant…”
He nods. “I understand. We’ll leave first thing in the morning. Is there…anything else you need?”
She turns away, walking to the mirror to stare at herself. “My hair…I want it back to normal.”
He nods, expecting that. “But you don’t want to be Elena?”
She turns. “No. I want to legally change my name to Chealyn. Can you fix that?”
He nods. “I can help you with it.”
She steps up to him and takes his hands. “Thank you. I mean it.”
He smiles. “What are friends for?”
Chapter End Notes:
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