Breath of Air by Katie Jennings Page A

ever thinking about it again. Sure, in the back of my mind I would wonder about you, think about you coming home someday, but largely I avoided it at all costs. I’m sorry that this is not easier for me, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t the one to tell you about what happened that night. It should have been me, not Thea. And maybe that was why she kept silent, because she had hoped I would bring you to that place, explain it all to you, and then we could find closure together. But I couldn’t do it. I’m a coward, Capri, so much so that I couldn’t tell my own daughter how her mother had died, and who was responsible. I’m so sorry.”
    “It doesn’t matter.” Capri looked into his eyes, searching. “It doesn’t matter who told the story, as long as it was told. We both need to go over there, and we both need to relive this together, so that we can have closure. I’m scared too…scared of the pain, of the misery, of the regret, but none of those fears change the fact that we both lost her, and we both need to remember her and avenge her. Please help me do that…Dad.”
    She felt tears brimming in her eyes as he hugged her tightly, but she also felt an odd strength rise within her. It was all so clear to her now…she would do everything in her power to find the demon responsible for ruining her life, and she would avenge her mother’s death. If she still had doubts and fears flashing like neon lights in her brain, telling her to let it go and forget, then she was just going to have to get over them. This wasn’t the time to be afraid anymore, it was the time to act.
    “Let’s go.” Clynn smiled sadly as he pulled away and turned towards the path that led to the jasmine bushes. They walked together, arms around each other, and when they reached the jasmine, they stood in front of it as a unit, and mourned what had been lost.
    ♦ ♦ ♦
    It hadn’t occurred to Capri how she was going to react to seeing Blythe again until she was seated at the dining table, ready to eat dinner, and the girl in question sat across from her, a bright smile on her face.
    “You look a hell of a lot better.” Blythe said cheerfully as she grabbed a roll and bit into it happily. Liam sat beside her, shaking his head and chuckling.
    “Thanks.” Capri replied, finding it hard to look Blythe in the eyes. She wasn’t sure why she felt so awkward…obviously Blythe knew what her father had done, and it didn’t seem to stop her from being friendly.
    “Man, I’m starving.” Blythe announced as she swallowed and started piling slices of honey ham onto her plate.
    “Big surprise.” Liam grumbled as he forked up a bite of mashed potatoes. He winked at Capri as he chewed.
    “Hey.” Blythe pointed her fork at him, one of her eyebrows cocked defensively. “Lay off me and my food habits already, it’s not like you haven’t been living with me forever. You should be used to this”
    “Yeah, but you seem to feel the need to announce it to the world every time your stomach grumbles.” Liam retorted.
    Blythe shrugged and patted her stomach happily, grinning at Capri. “What can I say? I’m a loud mouth. It gets me in trouble more often than not.”
    Capri avoided looking at Blythe again, and picked at the food on her own plate. She pushed around the carrots and peas, her mind elsewhere.
    She noticed Rhiannon sit down a couple seats away from her, but when she glanced up and smiled, the other girl merely bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement and looked away. Unsure why Rhiannon was acting so coldly, Capri turned her gaze back to her food and sighed.
    “Is something bothering you, Capri?” Liam asked, his kind eyes concerned.
    Capri looked up, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
    “No, it’s nothing.” She stammered, feeling foolish.
    When her eyes shifted unconsciously to Blythe, Liam seemed to understand.
    “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.” He said simply, eyeing her intently before returning to