coming in and shaking up his world.”
“I still don’t understand,” said Karla. “He’s done so much to help find her. How could he be involved in any way?”
“Because Emily told us,” said Grey, coming around the corner and taking a seat on the couch. “Tyler was in love with her.”
“Are you ready to hear all of this?” asked Kate.
“Yes,” said Karla. “I’m ready now. I have to face the truth about what I did. What we all did to her.”
Kate moved to the couch and sat beside Grey. He had finished reading the journals Emily had started when she was twelve. Karla knew the information inside would bring back a terrible time in her life that she had tried to forget. Emily started speaking through Grey.
“After Tyler and Dawson’s mother died, they spent most of their time with you and your family. Dawson was having a tough time understanding why his father had beat him. Tyler felt vulnerable and looked for stability with you and Hank. I don’t think the boy’s father ever hit them again, but he certainly never got sober.”
“He still isn’t,” said Karla. “Losing his wife was too much for him. She died so young. It was awful, I tell you. Just awful. And then to lose my Hank right after. It was all just too much to bear.”
“When Emily was sixteen, Tyler started showing more affection towards her. She did her best to let him down easy, but he kept trying to win her over. What Tyler didn’t realize is that Emily was in love with Dawson.”
“My goodness,” said Karla. “How did I not know that? Those boys practically lived here through high school.”
“Probably because Dawson didn’t show the same feelings towards her. But they did have sex at the end of summer before her senior year. It was a week before Dawson accepted the job in North Dakota and left Boudreaux for good. They planned a night of saying goodbye, and things developed from there. I don’t think either one of them planned for it to happen, but I do believe they cared about each other deeply.
“A few weeks after Dawson left, Emily wrote that Tyler had become more aggressive with her. One night when she was in his car, she had to push him off of her before she could get out. She was pissed and ended up walking three miles to get home. Looking at the timeline of her journal, she didn’t speak to him, or about him, for two months. Then out of the blue, she wrote that they had a long talk and everything was fine between them. The last sentence in her journal was that he was picking her up to take her to a party at Brittany Greene’s house. Not another word was written after.”
“You certainly get to the point, don’t you?” said Karla, faking a smile.
“I’m sorry,” said Grey. “I’m not trying to be insensitive, even though it seems to be a gift of mine. I do believe these are important details and will give us a better understanding of what was going on in her life before it changed.”
“You must think I’m an awful person,” said Karla. “She must have written about my condition after Hank died. I made so many mistakes, and I’m afraid those mistakes caused all of this to happen.”
“Ms. Karla,” said Grey, getting her attention. “I believe Emily was betrayed by the people closest to her, but that doesn’t include you. She loved you very much and understood everything that you were going through. More importantly, she knew how much you loved her. Pages and pages were written about both of you and how lucky she was to have such amazing parents.”
“She was more like her father than me,” said Karla, speaking through tears. “She could handle anything. She was tough, smart, and kind, just like Hank. She was able to deal with his death better than I could. She became the strength of this family while I lay on the couch depressed and overmedicated. I should’ve been there for her, not the other way around.”
“We’re not here to judge you, Ms. Karla,” said Kate. “We’re here to
“I still don’t understand,” said Karla. “He’s done so much to help find her. How could he be involved in any way?”
“Because Emily told us,” said Grey, coming around the corner and taking a seat on the couch. “Tyler was in love with her.”
“Are you ready to hear all of this?” asked Kate.
“Yes,” said Karla. “I’m ready now. I have to face the truth about what I did. What we all did to her.”
Kate moved to the couch and sat beside Grey. He had finished reading the journals Emily had started when she was twelve. Karla knew the information inside would bring back a terrible time in her life that she had tried to forget. Emily started speaking through Grey.
“After Tyler and Dawson’s mother died, they spent most of their time with you and your family. Dawson was having a tough time understanding why his father had beat him. Tyler felt vulnerable and looked for stability with you and Hank. I don’t think the boy’s father ever hit them again, but he certainly never got sober.”
“He still isn’t,” said Karla. “Losing his wife was too much for him. She died so young. It was awful, I tell you. Just awful. And then to lose my Hank right after. It was all just too much to bear.”
“When Emily was sixteen, Tyler started showing more affection towards her. She did her best to let him down easy, but he kept trying to win her over. What Tyler didn’t realize is that Emily was in love with Dawson.”
“My goodness,” said Karla. “How did I not know that? Those boys practically lived here through high school.”
“Probably because Dawson didn’t show the same feelings towards her. But they did have sex at the end of summer before her senior year. It was a week before Dawson accepted the job in North Dakota and left Boudreaux for good. They planned a night of saying goodbye, and things developed from there. I don’t think either one of them planned for it to happen, but I do believe they cared about each other deeply.
“A few weeks after Dawson left, Emily wrote that Tyler had become more aggressive with her. One night when she was in his car, she had to push him off of her before she could get out. She was pissed and ended up walking three miles to get home. Looking at the timeline of her journal, she didn’t speak to him, or about him, for two months. Then out of the blue, she wrote that they had a long talk and everything was fine between them. The last sentence in her journal was that he was picking her up to take her to a party at Brittany Greene’s house. Not another word was written after.”
“You certainly get to the point, don’t you?” said Karla, faking a smile.
“I’m sorry,” said Grey. “I’m not trying to be insensitive, even though it seems to be a gift of mine. I do believe these are important details and will give us a better understanding of what was going on in her life before it changed.”
“You must think I’m an awful person,” said Karla. “She must have written about my condition after Hank died. I made so many mistakes, and I’m afraid those mistakes caused all of this to happen.”
“Ms. Karla,” said Grey, getting her attention. “I believe Emily was betrayed by the people closest to her, but that doesn’t include you. She loved you very much and understood everything that you were going through. More importantly, she knew how much you loved her. Pages and pages were written about both of you and how lucky she was to have such amazing parents.”
“She was more like her father than me,” said Karla, speaking through tears. “She could handle anything. She was tough, smart, and kind, just like Hank. She was able to deal with his death better than I could. She became the strength of this family while I lay on the couch depressed and overmedicated. I should’ve been there for her, not the other way around.”
“We’re not here to judge you, Ms. Karla,” said Kate. “We’re here to
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