Her sister sat on stairs next to her. Kelly was crying and her mouth was rapidly moving in panic but no sound came out.
« Please, tell me, » Bea begged.
She felt immense fear wrap around her and cried out as her sister's throat opened up and blood started pouring out. She shouted and shouted but it didn't stop and other wounds started appearing all over Kelly's body, painting her red. The fear grew again and her sister's hand shot up to point somewhere. Bea followed it and found herself staring into the mirror. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw-
Beatrice shot up, panting and sweating. She hid her face in her hands and felt the wetness on her face. She hated how worse the nightmares had gotten lately.
She had wondered if it was out of guilt for approaching June at first. She still couldn't explain why she had but when she stumbled across the crying woman, her body had acted on its own. And then as if fate wanted to take the prank further, the timid, quiet woman had popped up in her café.
The more time Beatrice spent with her though, the more she felt like she was missing something big. And yet, whenever it came to discovering what, she'd wake up.
But Beatrice felt it in her guts. She had no proof and couldn't explain it, but she knew they had all passed the truth by seventeen years ago.
—
Julian sat in the kitchen, sleepily munching on cereal and watched his father jog in, looking more refreshed than he had since… Forever.
« Oh, » his father saw him and turned from the stairs to come into the kitchen too. « You're up early. »
« You too, » Julian remarked knowingly, looking down at his father's clothes. The same as yesterday.
Both men remained silent, knowing.
« Son- »
« Mom is happy, » Julian cut him off. « And you're happy. That's all that matters to me. » Thomas stared at his son and Julian recognized the mix of pride and gratefulness in the green orbs. « But you should go up and change before Liz comes down. »
His father nodded and patted him on the shoulder once before running upstairs.
Julian left for school with a light heart. Almost everything was clicking in place and everyone found balance. Almost.
The teenager skipped class after the second period and headed to the school roof. No one had yet realized someone had picked the lock and used the quiet place as a regular hangout so he got to keep it a secret for now. He took out his laptop and notepad and went over the familiar notes again.
Julian spent the rest of the morning going through the police report he already knew by heart.
It had been heartwrenching to read it the first time around but he had been so convinced by his mother's innocence that he had gone through. The more time passed and the clearer it became that his mom hadn't murdered anyone. He felt it in his bones. Julian could never erase what his mother had been through, but he still needed to clear her name, couldn't allow for her to live with this any longer. She deserved the truth. So he spent hours and hours going over the whole case. Again and again.
Until it became maddeningly obvious to him that everything fit too perfectly.
It fitted so well that nobody paused on the other unidentified fingerprints on the knife.
Nor did they stop over the fact that June couldn't have had the time to buy fuel and come back in the short lapse of time that passed between her two visits. And the fuel can they found was way too expensive for her to buy. And the people who had seen June head over to the Bensons hadn't seen her carrying anything.
His mother was innocent and he would prove it.
For her. For his father. For Lizzy and himself.
—
« Ah ! » June moaned loudly and slapped a hand over her mouth as Thomas licked inside her. He seemed encouraged by her noisy loss of control and went back to eating her out with gusto. « Thomas ! Hnn ! S-stop ! »
He ignored her and pushed her thighs further up to get better access to her dripping entrance.
She turned her head to muffle her moans in the sofa and almost passed out from lack of breath under his relentless efforts to make her come again and again.
He groaned her name out as he pushed himself inside her loosened channel and by then she had been prepared well enough for him to start pumping without restraint. The rhythmic sound of the sofa sliding back and forth on the old wooden floor and the wet sound of their skin slapping together was so loud.
« June !» he growled and changed their position to sit and have her straddle him. She gasped as she was impaled by gravity on his huge, hard penis and felt it reach places it had never reached before. She convulsed with the climax it wrenched out of her and fell limp against his sweaty chest. He allowed her a minute to catch her breath before pushing his hips up in a slow rhythm.
« I can't anymore, » she panted against his throat.
« You can, » he ran his hands over her bare back until they wrapped around her shoulders and he pushed her back down at the same time as his hips thrust up.
She saw stars and whined at the overload of sensations. And yet, she found herself starting to move. Small, slow rolls of her hips. His pained groans encouraged her and she soon found herself working up and down on him, her breasts flying with the force of her thrusting.
« You're so beautiful, » he chanted in a trance and leaned forward to kiss down her throat.
She was certain she had spent everything and yet she was chasing after yet another orgasm now. They came together and this time she really passed out. When she woke up, Thomas was gone but she was clean and dressed. Her heart warmed as she found a glass of water waiting on the coffee table next to her.
June forced herself out of the giddiness and went to get ready for the day. It was Saturday and though she didn't have to go to work, she had a lot to do. Julian was coming over tonight and they had planned to try their hands at korean food together. she had three paintings to get to the post office. She had convinced Old Joe to get his sight checked out and had to wake him up and accompany him. And she had promised Bea to stop by to help her sort out the small library she kept in the café.
Groceries ? Done . Grumpy Old Joe's glasses ? Done. Post office ? Done.
It was already around four pm when she finally called Bea who told her to pick her up from the book shop where she had went to pick new reads for her customers.
« April ! » Bea groaned in delight. « We're almost done with this dark period ! »
« I'll miss your pumpkin spice lattes, » June smiled up at her pretty friend.
« We're moving onto smoothies and my watermelon granita which is to die for. »
They were walking with their arms crossed together and chattering about their week when Bea's steps faltered. June frowned and looked around but didn't notice anything out of order.
« Let's head over now, » Bea's smile looked forced. « I can't keep you for myself much longer. »
June was about to ask what was wrong when someone blocked their way and she turned to see Sawyer. She had seen him around and though he would always sent her a kind smile, he never approached. There was no smile now.
« Sawyer ? » June tried hesitantly but he was focused on Beatrice. She noticed he looked conflicted as shock, worry and anger fought for dominance on his face.
« What are you doing ? » He gritted out but he wasn't speaking to June.
Beatrice blanched but didn't answer. June didn't understand what was going on but she hated seeing her dear friend so shaken up.
« Can we help you ? » June stepped closer to Bea in support. She was over ten years older than her friend and had to show it sometimes.
« June… » Sawyer frowned at where they were linked. « She's- »
« Let's go ! » Beatrice suddenly exclaimed over his voice and dragged June with her.
June followed along but did turn to look at Sawyer who looked quite worried as he stared after them.
Beatrice's mood took a nosedive afterward. She kept talking to fill the silence but her voice was shaky and June thought she looked on the brink of a panic attack. So she went along and let her friend's mind slowly slow down and contented herself with just being there as a support.
When they finally started filtering through the library, Beatrice had fallen into a quiet, contemplative mood.
« Where should I put those ? » June stood up carrying a pile of old books.
« Just drop them in my office, I'll stop by an association next week, » Beatrice answered in an exhausted voice.
June had only been inside this room once. They had went in just long enough for Bea to grab her coat and were out before June could really get a good look inside. So she felt extremely privileged as she walked inside the quiet, messy office. She smiled at the pile of papers littering the desk, the clothes abandoned here and there, the forgotten cups around. She was careful not to disturb the chaotic order as she went to put the pile on a chair in front of the desk.
She was about to turn around and leave when something caught her eyes. June never pried but she felt an imperious urge to take a longer look at the photograph framed and sitting right next to the computer. She wasn't even conscious of reaching out and when Beatrice barged in, the picture was already in her hands.
There was absolute silence as June felt her world fall around her.
She immediately recognized the picture. The Bensons had sent it every year without fault for the past eighteen years. The same copy was handed to her every third of November. It continued even now that she was out and June remembered the breakdown she had on opening the mailbox that first November of freedom to find this very picture waiting for her.
Two girls sat smiling next to each other. They were ten years apart but there was no mistaking the deep affection between both as the older, beautiful blond teenager hugged the small red head to her chest. June remembered that little girl. She should have recognized her, even now, eighteen years later. Her nose was the same, her blue eyes, those eyes she shared with every other woman in her family, the cupid bow of her lips...
« I can explain, » Beatrice whispered in a heavy, choked voice.
June gulped around the urge to throw up but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the picture. She had a thousand questions rushing through her head. Why ? Were they even friends ? What did she want ? Revenge ? And her stomach dropped at the idea that Beatrice had been biding her time before striking back. June remembered everything she shared about her children and started trembling. How better to get back at who she held responsible for her sister's death ?
« They're innocent… » She muttered softly.
« Who ? » Beatrice approached her slowly, her hands out in front of her, as if she was a wild animal.
« Please, take it out on me, » June didn't stop the lone tear rolling down her face. « But leave my kids out of it. »
« What's going on in this silly little mind of yours ? » Beatrice chuckled but it was wet and shaky. June took a deep, shuddering breath and turned toward the woman she had considered her best friend for the past year and a half.
« What do you want ? »
Beatrice froze and her expression turned conflicted.
« The truth, » she finally said and it broke June's heart.
« I'm sorry, » she carefully put the picture back in its place. « I don't have it either. »
« I need to know what happened that night, » Beatrice insisted sounding so desperate, June wished she had an answer for her.
« I've prayed for the truth to come out every night for the past eighteen years, » she shook her head. « I didn't kill your sister and I didn't try to kill you either. But I don't know who did. »
« June… » Beatrice tried to reach out as June passed her by but she avoided it.
She ran out of the café without looking back, heart breaking with the reminder that the past would never let her go.
—
Sawyer was like a brother to Thomas, each being the other's closest confident since the time they met up at the skatepark at night to avoid their parents' respective abuse. He would die for him and knew it went both ways.
That's why he was over the moon at the change in his best friend's behavior. For the past three months, Thomas had walked around like a man who finally got to rest after being through hell, his body exuded peace and happiness. He didn't just look like a man who got laid, he looked like a man who made love to the woman of his life after waiting twenty years for her.
And now he had to announce his latest discovery and burst his bubble of bliss.
The guys looking over June from afar relayed the basics. Where she went, how she looked, who she met with. They didn't go into details that seemed insignificant. And Sawyer couldn't blame them as he never thought about asking more about the nice friend she hung out with for the past year and a half.
He would never, even after a million tries, ever have guessed right about the identity of that friend.
And he realised in a second upon the frightened look on Beatrice Benson's face that June had no clue either.
He didn't know what the woman wanted by befriending June but he knew that there was no way one befriended their sister's murderer without underlying intentions.
—
Thomas was sitting at home with his daughter when he received Sawyer's call. Lizzy was watching TV while he went over a contract they had been offered by a real estate conglomerate.
« Dad ? Everything's okay ? » Lizzy worried when he shot up and headed to the door.
« Yes, don't wait up, » he told her rapidly. « Order with my card. »
« Dad ! Wait- »
« Liz, princess, » he stopped her and she must have seen how serious he was because she paused. « Not now. »
June was rocking in a chair next to old Joe when he pulled up. At least she wasn't holding any alcohol he noted in relief.
« Julian's not here yet, » she frowned at him when he walked over and he hated the neutral tone she used, so much different than what she sounded like when she writhed under him or when they joked in each other's arms while waiting for their limbs to be able to move again.
« I know, » he frowned right back. June glared at him and discreetly mentioned to Old Joe with her head. She was reminding him of the terms of the contract. Fuck it. « I'm here for you. »
« Thomas ! » She exclaimed in shock.
« April, » Joe stopped her with a chuckle. « These walls, » he knocked on the trailer behind him. « Are paper thin. So are yours. »
June blushed bright red and gaped at the laughing old man before getting up and glaring at Thomas on her way home. She slammed the door behind her.
« That was rude, » Thomas commented but his tone belied his words.
« She's a bit stubborn but you're good for her, » Old Joe shrugged and got up, cracked his joints and headed home too. « But tone it down. I don't need to hear everything. And don't look so proud ! »
Thomas raised his eyebrow at the last accusation. He hadn't noticed his emotions were so plain to see for all.
« Forgive us this time, » he smirked at the old man before heading to June's trailer. He found her fuming over the kettle. « I'd like one too, » he went over and wrapped his arms around her.
« You're not respecting the deal, » she elbowed him in the abdomen but it felt like a caress to him and it was so cute, he leaned down to peck her on the temple.
« Sawyer- »
« I don't want to talk about it, » she cut him off.
« I'm- »
« I don't want to talk, » she whirled around in his arms and glared up at him. « Julian will be here in less than half an hour. »
« No, I want to- » He gasped as her hand wrapped around his dick which immediately stood to attention. « June, » he groaned. « We can't- We need to-»
She fell to her knees and the sight was enough to bring him down.
She effectively shut him up.
Thomas wasn't that weak that he'd look over her pain for his needs but he realized she needed the release right now and it fed something primal in him that he could help her out with his touch.
It was hard and rough and raw. But by the time Julian arrived, June looked much calmer.
« Oh, » his son paused as he found him sitting at the counter, as far as possible from June who waited for her son on the sofa. « It's been a long time since I last saw you here, dad. »
Thomas looked at his son pointedly and except for a knowing smile, Julian stopped there.
June didn't say anything when he started cutting vegetables with them. She let him stay through the whole dinner and though she was a bit quieter than she usually was around her precious son, she didn't look on the verge of melting down anymore.
—
Lizzy glared as her father's phone buzzed on the table. She gritted her teeth at the soft expression on his face while he read and gritted even harder when he smiled while typing a response. She had never seen her father text before. Ever. He always called when he had something to say. And here he was, giggling like a fucking teenager over his phone at the dining table.
At first, she had really thought she had finally got through that stubborn lady.
Everything went back to normal. Her dad wasn't acting crazy anymore, she didn't hear any humiliating story about him being caught buying bouquets at the florist or walking around town with his psycho ex. They spent more time as a family, together, the three of them. Her relationship with Julian got back on the right track and now that he wasn't dragging their father over to the trailer anymore, she could close her eyes on his own weekly visits. He wasn't bringing back food anymore and if she imagined Julian was spending the weekends over at Matthew's, it was almost like they were back to normal, back to the peaceful time before she got out of prison.
It lasted for three months. Three amazing months.
And then his father had slipped. He went back to the trailer with Julian. It happened just once but the way he acted that day made it clear he was too deep into whatever it was that went on between them.
And he started locking himself in his office to talk on the phone. He started texting.
Then one night, she realised her father wasn't here. He had forgotten to close his bedroom's door and one look at the well-made bed told her everything she needed to know. For the past two months, it had almost become rituals to go down to check on his bedroom every night. And she noticed the pattern. He was always here when Julian was away and never when her brother slept at home.
She tried to go back to blissful ignorance but she couldn't.
Lizzy ate her dinner in silence, ignoring her twin's attempt at talking to her.
—
Focus on dinner !
He smiled as he read June's message and typed back an answer.
Something had slowly shifted between them and though she put her foot down and forbad him to ever breech the contract again after last time, she opened up when it was just the two of them.
Sexually, it was fire.
Thomas felt heat gather in his lower abdomen every time he thought about how good they were together. Their chemistry was out of this world and the more comfortable she got, the better it was, event though he had thought it impossible to go anywhere beyond the bliss he had felt every time he touched her.
But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, it wasn't just sex. Had never been for him, but she was slowly catching up too. They cooked and ate together. He told her about work and complained about Sawyer, she opened up about her art and her plans for the future. They joked, they debated, gave advices. Thomas had to force himself to slow down and enjoy the ride as she slowly opened up to him. Every new layer she allowed him to discover so beautiful and precious.
He put his phone away when he understood she won't answer now that she knew he was with the kids and turned his attention to the dinner. Lizzy was sulking but no matter how much he tried, she wouldn't open up. She had gotten a lot better though and he hated that it was because she thought he was over June now.
« Dad, » Julian spoke up when it was just the two of them and he was helping Thomas fill the dishwasher.
« Hm ? »
« Do you still think she did it ? »
Thomas froze at the question he had not been expecting.
Yet, he had been thinking about it for months now. He knew the answer, felt it churn in his guts while he remained too scared to face it. Because facing the truth, seeing what he now saw twenty years later and not as an emotional teen who was desperate to flee his father's legacy anymore, it meant admitting that he had let June down in the worst way possible. It meant that he had let the love of his life get dragged in the mud, lose everything, miss out on every single of their children's achievement and suffer on her own behind bars for seventeen years for nothing.
« With hindsight, now that you're an adult who's seen the world, who learned to really read people, » Julian closed the dishwasher but stood in place in front of his father. « Do you still believe she could have done all this ? »
Thomas gulped but he owed it to June, to his son, to face the truth. He couldn't remain a coward forever if he wanted to build something together.
« No, » he admitted, feeling both lighter and heavier than ever at once.
« Wether you believe it or not, » both men startled at the furious voice that broke in. « It was proven a long time ago and if you need to go over the whole case again to see it, go ahead, » Lizzy glared at her brother. « Read about how your dear mother cut this poor, defenseless girl open like a coward. Remind yourself what she had done to the small girl who caught her- »
« Elizabeth, » Thomas cut her off and his tone was serious enough that she paused. « Stop. »
« Dad ! » She cried out and it hurt to see his daughter so distressed, even more so because he knew he couldn't make it better. He may have all the conviction in the world, it didn't change the fact that he had no proof. « How can you do this to the Bensons ? How can you do this to me ? »
He gathered the trembling girl in his arms and allowed her to break down. He looked at his disconcerted son over her head and motioned for him to leave them alone.
It didn't take her long to calm down and he sat her down at the counter. He had to tell her the truth now.
« I love her, » he admitted in a soft, gentle voice, feeling a burden fall from his shoulders at the confession. His heart tightened painfully at the scoff her daughter breathed out. « I can't make you see what I see and… I won't force you to do anything but I know that if you tried to talk to her, you would understand what Julian and I see. Why we love her so much. »