The Truth He Buried With Her Chapter 04

The Truth He Buried With Her Chapter 04

I gritted my teeth and left without another word.

At the Battalion HQ gate, I saw my brother David Kensington coming from the neighboring unit.

From a distance, I could see his sleeves were rolled up, veins bulging in his arms, his face dark.

“Sloane, wait. I’m going to beat the hell out of Griffin.”

I grabbed his arm.

“Don’t start swinging yet. I need you to look into someone first.”

David stopped, sleeve still bunched above his elbow.

“Who?”

“Blair Davenport. From the southwest. Everything you can find.”

He looked at me, then rolled his sleeve back down.

“Three days. I’ll have something for you in three days.”

Three days later, David came back.

I knew something was wrong the moment he walked through the gate.

He came in with his head down, shoulders slumped, like a man on his way to deliver bad news.

He dropped into a chair in the living room, drank half a mug of water in one go, and said nothing.

I sent Leo outside to play and sat across from him.

“What did you find? Whose baby is it?”

He set the mug on the table.

“I found out.”

“Whose is it? Say it.”

He looked up at me.

My heart dropped.

“Sloane… can you just let it be Griffin’s? Please?”

The travel mug in my hand hit the floor.

I stared at him, stunned.

Water splashed everywhere. It bounced twice on the tile and rolled into the corner.

My brother scratched his head and looked away.

“What do you mean?”

He sighed.

“Griffin didn’t do anything wrong. Listen to me on this. Let it go.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong? He brought home a pregnant woman and told me he did nothing wrong?”

David said nothing.

He sat there and let me yell until I ran out of breath.

That afternoon, my parents arrived from their small town after a day-long drive.

When Dad came through the gate and saw Griffin standing under the eaves, he crossed the yard in three steps and slapped him across the face.

Griffin stood there and didn’t flinch. Five red marks rose on his face. His head turned, then turned back.

“Dad.”

“Don’t call me Dad.”

Mom pushed Dad and Griffin into the inner room and shut the door.

The door and windows were closed. I couldn’t make out the words, but I could hear Dad’s voice rising and falling, then Mom’s voice holding him down.

After a long while, the door opened. Mom came out first, eyes red.

She sat down on the edge of my bed and took my hand.

“Listen to me. Let this go. For Leo’s sake.”

My head buzzed.

They’d gone into a room and come out changed.

My mother hadn’t even asked me what happened. She just told me to let it go.

“Why should I let it go? You won’t even ask me what happened, and you want me to let it go?”

She squeezed my hand tightly.

“Because letting it go is what’s best for everyone. Especially you.”

I looked at her.

She didn’t avoid my eyes, but her gaze was firm.

I looked at Dad. He stood at the door with his back to me, shoulders shaking.

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out myself. There is no way there’s no—”

“Enough.”

Mom pressed my hand onto the bed.

“Stop digging.”