Page 65 (1/1)

I grab onto my car and watch Mark as the tears slide down his cheeks "I’ll never forget thatThe look of pure agony and loss in his eyes ate at me and made me realize that if I were in his position that I’d do the same I’d kill for my faerous He’s not a bad fucking guy He fights for the ones he loves and does everything in his power to protect the place at the wrong time He was thrown a shitty hand and he dealt with it All of these people in this small town don’t see it that way They’re twisted here in soood civilized people and who are the bad, uncivilized savages that are nothing but a waste of space and a disgrace to their town To theht Even to his own fucking fa the tears froht I’m sorry I kno hard it edy And Royal"

He shakes his head, trying to pull it together, but I can see howthat I’ve ever had to witness, and to top it off, Royal went to jail that night He assaulted a police officer; broke that son of a bitch’s nose for trying to keep hi fiancé He deserved it, but the court didn’t see it that way Officers Payton and Cooper et to see the light of day until his justice was served They couldn’t get him on murder because it was self-defense, so the asshole cop whose nose he broke, charged hi the love of his life It was total fucking shit and I felt helpless that I couldn’t do a da to help him He didn’t utter a word for weeks"

"His parents took care of everything on the outside to make sure Olivia had a proper burial, but they stayed far away from Royal and didn’t even bother to visit him"

I cover my face and shake h I had no idea the extent of things and I hate hearing this It ry "So Royal was in jail when they buried Olivia? Those assholes kept him away?"

He nods his head "Yeahhe was He was a fucking mess, but refused to speak to anyone He shut down, so I went and visited him every few days just to let him know that he wasn’t alone and that I stood behind hier ones, Avalon It’s the only thing I hate about being here"

"Fuck," I whisper "All of that, and on top of it he lost his baby girl He doesn’t deserve all of this pain He doesn’t"

"Yeah," he says softly "He couldn’t handle all of the shit that was going on, so during his tihter It’s the one and only time that his stepfather went to visit him I was surprised at first, but then realized that Royal was broken at the tih h I could see how keeping his daughter would be hard on him, so I tried my best to keep my opinions on the matter to myself and support his decision"

He breathes out "She’s the little girl you just hter," he continues "That’s why she’s so iht and I was there to see her last bit of fahting to breathe The et He has to be wrong This can’t be"What did you just say?"

"I’m sorry that I told you this way, but you needed to know That little girl is Royal’s child I’ve been visiting her since she was a baby I’ve been protecting her and looking out for her I know Royal won’t speak of her He never does"

I shakeweak "No That can’t be true She’s dead," I say softly "There has to be a mistake Royal said she was dead He said"

Mark rushes over and grabs ht when I about fall over "What are you saying?" He screaainst the car "What do you mean Royal said she’s dead?"

"He said they both died," I cry "Blaine toldThey both think they lost her"

Mark pulls me into his arms and holds me as I cry into his chest "Royal thinks she’s dead He thinks she’s dead and now he’s gone He’s fucking gone and I can’t tell hi Payton is a dirty fucking piece of shit cop, and I’ with Royal’s fucking parents I knew that son of a bitch was fucked up in the head"

"What are you saying," I question "What does that mean? Why would they do that to hi overwhelhter up? He would never do that!"

He punches the top of his car a few tiain "It nature, and Payton and them made Royal believe she was dead It also ainst Payton’s He stands no chance at fighting hi talked about her to hi up the ave her up because it hurt hiht I should have known he wouldn’t give her up Fuck!"

"I want her," I say without hesitation "Tell et her out of there and intothat I can" His eyes meet mine "Are you sure you want to do this? Don’t take on soirl that we’re talking about here I need to know that you really want her, and will take care of her and love her as your own"

"Please," I say firmly "I love him That is his child in there and I’ll love her too I’ve never beenin my life Help me"