Shortcake*

Chapter 19: Into Perspective

*Copyright: Stephanie Myrick, 2023. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*

Cleo looked at Link in dismay as he flicked through the documents and paused to read a couple. When he dropped to his knees and began to sob, she took them from him, read the notes, and felt her stomach twist. Dropping the papers like they were hot, she crouched beside Link and put her arms around him.

"It's not your fault." She murmured in his ear. "Shhh. It's okay, it's not your fault." Link pulled her tight against him and pressed his face against her shoulder. She held him and rubbed his back until he eventually stopped and fell quiet. "Come on, over to the couch." She helped him up, and when they were both sitting, she watched as he leaned back and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Are you okay?" It was a stupid question, but she didn't know what else to say to him.

"I'm sorry, seeing what I've always had in the back of my mind written out like that..." Link muttered.

"No, it's wrong." Cleo cupped his cheek. "Why would you think the mother of your child would hurt your little girl? Mothers are supposed to protect. Even if she had a problem with you, you couldn't have known she would take it out on Kimber."

"I had my suspicions. I knew something was going on." He shook his head. "I just didn't know what."

"Did you ignore your suspicions?" She stroked his cheek with her thumb.

"No!" He dropped his hands and glared at her. "I had my mom check-in. I asked Kimber if everything was okay. I tried to talk to Jerrica... Jerrica made me think I was crazy; Kimber said everything was fine, and Mom said nothing was out of the ordinary. But my neighbours noticed something was off and called the police -"

"Did your neighbours ever come to you with their concerns?" Cleo interrupted. Link paused and shook his head. "Why not? Why call the cops and not come to you with their concerns?"

"I don't know."

"Why didn't the cops talk to you?" Cleo asked. She held his gaze, keeping his focus on her.

"Because Jerrica convinced them she was dealing with an autistic child's meltdown, it was a false report." He explained, clearly frustrated.

"So, how were you supposed to know for sure? I know you said Kimber was smart, but she was six Link; she couldn't tell you because her mom told her not to or she'd take her away. She didn't want to be taken away, so she stayed quiet. Of course, Jerrica made you think you were crazy; she was hiding what she was doing. I don't have an answer for your neighbours, but maybe the cops telling them nothing was going on was enough for them to back off, or maybe Jerrica went and spoke to them and made them feel like shit for reporting a stay-at-home mom who's trying her best to look after her. Either way, you aren't at fault with what happened. The blame rests with Jerrica and Jerrica alone. Your parents, Jerrica's parents, you, no one knew what she would do." Cleo shifted and hugged him tightly. "It's not your fault, and you were clearly not "willfully ignorant."

Link leaned into the hug, feeling some of his guilt wash away. "Just ignorant then."

"You were twenty-six and stuck in a situation you didn't want to be in. You made the best of it." She rubbed his shoulder and pointed at the papers. "Whoever sent that to me was trying to paint you in the worst possible light, and what did they come up with? That you didn't know your wife was going to kill your daughter, and you've slept with a lot of women." She rested her chin on his shoulder and smiled. "Both of which I already knew."

Everything suddenly slid into place for him, and he jumped up. "We need to leave." He gripped her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Go pack."

"What do you mean we need to leave?" Cleo looked at him in surprise. "Because of the envelope?"

"Yes... and I need to tell you something." Link ran his hand through his hair and sat down again. "I'll tell you everything I know, and I just want to start by saying I was going to tell you; I just didn't know how."

"What's going on?" Cleo glanced at the papers. "Do you know who sent the papers?"

"Sort of. Just let me explain." Link quickly went over everything Will had told her the day before. When he was finished, Cleo just stared at him.

"Why didn't Haven tell me this?"

"They didn't want me to know. Will and Danielle decided I needed to know to keep an eye on you. I told Will I had to tell you, and because of the whole Nico thing, I wasn't sure how to tell you."

Cleo chewed her lip, her mind racing. She could see why they would suspect Nico; he was the only one of them who had been a part of her life to know everything. "So, who knows we're here and not actually at Will and Danielle's cabin?"

"Will and Danielle definitely do. I don't know if he told Haven and Annette."

"Four potential leaks." Cleo muttered. "And the other envelope said my husband's and my parents' deaths weren't accidents?"

"It alluded to them having been staged to look like accidents." Link was watching her closely. "I asked my dad what the latest was on Jerrica, and she met a guy and moved to a small town outside Albany to be with him."

"Albany. Near where I grew up." Cleo raised an eyebrow. "When?"

"Five months ago." Link sighed.

"So after we went public with our relationship." Cleo nodded. "With them sending me the information about you, I think whoever is doing this is very unhappy we're together and doesn't realize it was fake."

"Which rules out Nico."

"No. It doesn't. Nico thought we were falling for each other." Cleo fidgeted. "He said we were "smitten" with each other and pointed out that I trust you enough to fall asleep on you." Seeing the look on Link's face, she gently pushed him. "Don't look so smug. I need you to be serious about this."

"I am! Just nice to hear, that's all." Link shrugged and grinned at her. "You're reacting very calmly to all this, especially about Nico and your parents and husband."

"Look, if my parents and husband's deaths weren't accidents, that's terrible, but I'm not sad they're dead. They were awful people. I never asked Nico or anyone else to kill them for me; if Nico did, he needs to go to prison for it." Cleo stretched her arms above her head and yawned. "I don't think he would do it though. What would be the point? I had cut my parents out of my life for a few years when they died; they left everything to the church, so all I gained from that was the ability to return to South Bethlehem without running into them. When Anthony was killed, we were separated, I had a restraining order, and he was being investigated for domestic abuse. I was out and free... yeah I got his life insurance and estate, but I had no idea about the policy. The fact that I was the beneficiary of everything was an even bigger shock. My understanding was he was leaving everything to his nephews."

"So, in your mind, you had nothing to gain by their deaths."

"Not a thing." Cleo got up and picked up the envelope, looking for the postmark. "Do you know where zip codes that start with 30 are from?"

"Georgia." Link looked up, surprised. "The letter is from Georgia?"

"30830?"

"From my hometown zip code. So whoever sent it went to the source for the information." Link shook his head and groaned. "Walter and Joy know we're here too. We need to leave without anyone finding out."

"We need a plan." Cleo nodded.

*Copyright: Stephanie Myrick, 2023. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*