Chapter Fifty-eight
"Katie. Sorry to interrupt." Danny stood over the table and looked at her and Colin together. It didn't pain him like he thought it'd might.
Kate pulled away at the sound of his voice. "Yes?" She said, sounding a bit annoyed.
"You need to go home. Lia sent me over here, she left with Lynnie."
Panic filled her. If Lynnie was upset it meant she'd seen something bad. "What happened? Is it my mom? Is it the baby?"
"She mentioned Becky – Kate that's all I know. You should go now. And get home safe, OK?"
"Katrina – it'll be ok. Let's go." Colin helped her up and to the door. Kate could barely walk she was so frightened. "Thanks, man." He called out to Danny as he eased her outside.
"Don't mention it." Danny replied, surprised that he really meant it.
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Alison was pacing the porch. She knew where he was. She was sure of it. The kids had gotten tired of waiting for pizza and left for the carnival. That had been hours ago.
She wouldn't blame him. He didn't need her nagging at him about the fact that he wanted to protect them, she just wished that he would someday be able to live in peace.
A car pulled into the driveway. It still wasn't Rafe. It was Grant, Chloe and Becky. Grant leaned into the backseat and cradled Becky in his arms. Chloe plastered herself right next to him as they walked towards the house.
Alison's lips curved into a smile. She was sure Becky had gotten so wound up she exhausted herself.
"You're back earlier than I thought. Did you have fun?"
"Mom." Grant's face was ashen. "Where's Dad?"
The color drained from her own face as she looked at her son. "He's not home yet sweetie. What's the matter?"
Chloe was still too shocked to speak. She knew that Grant and his sisters were slayers like their dad, she just never dreamed she see them in action. Especially not Becky.
A squeal of tires brought Kate and Colin into the driveway. Kate was out of the car in a flash. "What happened to Becky? Lynnie saw something."
"Let me bring her inside." Grant said as he did just that, the rest of them following behind.
"Mommy. He was bad. I had to." Becky's bottom lip quivered as she babbled on. "I don't know why, but I knew he had to stop. Mommy…"
"Shh. OK sweetie. It's OK." She held Becky tightly in her arms, running a hand over her hair again and again. She was shaking so violently, Alison was almost sure she was convulsing. A million horrific possibilities raced through her mind. Even still she was not prepared for the truth.
Knowing she'd have to tell the story, Chloe finally found her voice. "She was sitting with me. We were talking, she was so sweet, the way she always is. And then her face went blank. She said something was wrong – and before I could catch her she ran across to the edge of the woods."
"We chased after her, Mom. I tried. But when I got there it was already over. She…"
"She what?" Rafe said from the doorway, his face full of concern.
"She slayed him." Grant said softly.
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He looked over at her, riddled with guilt. He didn't know quite what to say. After hearing Grant's words they brought Becky upstairs and got her into bed. The older kids knew they'd need to be alone so they packed up some things and without so much as a word went to stay with Cam and Abby.
Alison had been upstairs for hours, coaxing Becky to sleep. Just a few minutes before she had come down to sit quietly beside him on the couch.
"Alison…" He began.
It was like she didn't hear him. "She's eight years old, Rafe. Just eight. She's such a little girl and she's the sweetest thing in the world."
He hung his head. "I know…I – "
She kept on speaking right over him, her voice shaking with anger. "You didn't tell me it would be like this. You didn't warn me. You never said she'd have to actually do it."
Alison finally turned to look at him, pain filling her eyes. He wanted to hold her but he wasn't sure she'd let him. "I figured it would be Grant. He was the best at it. I figured he might have to someday and that was alright. It was like he was following your footsteps. Even Katie. If it were Katie I could handle it. She's tough. She's always been like you."
Tears flowed down her cheeks as she gazed at him, each one blasting through and shattering his heart. She shook her head violently, "But not my baby, Rafe. Not her. How could you let this happen?"
"I never imagined it could." He replied. He couldn't help himself. He inched closer to her and ran a hand over her hair.
Alison cringed away and stood. Her voice began to rise. "This is supposed to be your job!!! You're supposed to protect her. Where were you? Fighting the one vampire it's impossible for you to slay?" She whirled around and snapped at him. "You were busy fighting Caleb weren't you??"
She looked at him and started to sob. "You're supposed to keep her safe. You told me you would. You promised me. You promised me."
She was right. Rafe stood there and let her go at him because she was right. He'd failed. He wasn't there when he should have been. It was all his fault. Even if he'd been around it was only because of him that she was a slayer to begin with. "Alison…" He whispered as he moved towards her again. He didn't know what else to do. He just needed to somehow start to make it better.
"You promised me." Alison said again as she started to sway. Rafe moved to hold her and she tried to fight him off, pounding her fists against his chest. The full effect of the night's events hit her like a runaway train. "You promised me." She whispered over and over through her tears until she finally collapsed in his arms.