Torched by Bella Love-Wins Page B

shook his head, as did the others in the living room.
    “Okay. We’re finished for now, but if you hear from Jake Crawford, be sure to contact us.”
    “We will,” his dad responded for the group.
    Tara, Kevin, and his mom stayed seated as his dad led the officers to the front door. The door slammed shut and his father’s voice rose.
    “How could he do this to the family, Janine?”
    Kevin walked to where his parents stood in the foyer. His dad was livid. His mom reached out to him, but he pulled away.
    “I need some fresh air.” He stormed through the house, and out the back door.
    His mom turned around and hurried up the stairs. They were stretched so thin, emotionally. It was hard for him to watch.
    “There you have it,” Kevin mumbled. “The real Crawford family.”
    ***
    I t took a while, but Kevin’s dad finally came back inside. He went up the stairs and their bedroom door closed, signaling they were having a serious conversation.
    “You know,” Tara began, “you have blamed yourself for what’s going on, but I’ve come to a conclusion.”
    “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
    “It’s my fault.” The moment she said the words, he turned to face her. A tear fell down her cheek, because of all the pent-up fears she’d been concealing.
    He brushed the tear away. “This is absolutely not your fault.”
    “Yes...it is,” she continued. “Hear me out. We’ve been looking at this the wrong way. Jake has some delusion he is in a relationship with me.”
    “He loves you,” Kevin corrected her.
    “Whatever,” she said. “He has this delusion something is meant to happen between us. I’m the problem. All these deaths have occurred because of me. An employee from one of my former jobs died, the man who bullied me all through grade school was killed. I became friends with Amy and she was murdered, we were at the state park and a tent I should’ve been sleeping in was trashed, someone a few spots down from us died...don’t you get it? These are all people I one way or another have been associated with.”
    “They’ve been associated with us,” he argued. “You can’t take on all this blame.”
    “You never worked at Richard’s Bakery. That wasn’t your tent he destroyed.”
    “Listen to yourself. If he loves you, why would he want to hurt you? He knew you weren’t in that tent. He could’ve done it for any reason. We may never know.”
    He put his hand on hers, but she pulled away. A pained expression crossed his face.
    “Don’t do this.”
    “How can I not do this?” she asked. “I came over for Thanksgiving supper, had a wonderful time, and I appreciate everything you and your family did to make that day special. For all we know, Jake stood outside and watched us. He could be anywhere, and I’m not going to stand back and let him hurt you or your parents.” She stood up. “I can’t do that.”
    “What are you doing?” Kevin jumped up and grabbed her hand. Again, she pulled away. “Tara, you aren’t walking away from this relationship to try to protect me.”
    “I’m walking away from this relationship so I can protect us both. We don’t know what Jake will do, but we do know he’s dangerous and capable of unthinkable things. I can’t stand back and give him more ammunition.”
    “Tara. Don’t do this.”
    He placed his hand on her neck and drew her closer to him. His breath hovered over her skin, as he got close enough to brush up against her.
    “We can get through it. We can get through anything,” he whispered.
    He pressed his lips to hers and even though she believed him, she pulled away.
    “Things will be better this way.”
    “Tara...” he shouted.
    The desperation was clear in his voice as she turned to pick up her purse and coat and hurried out the door. He continued to call after her, but she didn’t stop until she was in her car. Tears trailed down her face as she drove away from the house.

Chapter 14
    K evin didn’t sleep all night. Every time his eyes