Free Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers by JeanNicole Rivers Page A

anxious to begin the conversation only because it meant being closer to the end of the conversation, her stomach was tumbling like a slinky.
    “So what do you think happened?” Regina was anxious to know what he was thinking. Leo thought for a long time. He knew what he wanted to say, but he pondered what was appropriate before he spoke.
    “Honestly, Regina, I loved my sister, but I just can’t do this again. She is dead, she’s been dead all of this time and despite her body being discovered and all the new uncertainties one thing is still unchanged.”
    “She’s dead.” Regina finished his thought sorrowfully and he smiled a smile that lacked any kind of joy, but appreciation of her understanding.
    “She’s dead.” He repeated dryly while nodding his head. Leo leaned over, placing his forearms on his legs and dove deeper into his private thought vault. Regina just sat being still in the moment, knowing it was best to leave him undisturbed. Moments later, helifted and looked inside of her as if he was trying to determine something.
    “Do you want to know another reason why I want this whole situation to be done and over with?” he asked. Regina studied his features trying to figure his puzzle.
    “Why?” Her voice instinctively dropped to a whisper. She had no idea what Lola’s brother was going to say, but somehow knew that it called for no one outside of this room to hear.
    “Because I lied,” he said. Regina’s eyes widened in suspense. “I lied to the police, to my mother, to everyone,” he finished sullenly. A terrified Regina began to pray that the boy who had always seemed like a loving older brother did not have some degenerate side that he was about to divulge.
    “About what?” Regina was still speaking in a whisper.
    The way Leo stared at Regina made her uncomfortable as if he were laying his eyes upon her body naked. He then looked down, wondering if this was a secret that he was ready to reveal or if it should ever be revealed at all.
    “I did speak to her that night, after she left the library.”
    “What? What did she say, Leo?” Regina could hear nothing now, but the sound of Leo’s voice as if the two of them were a million miles away from everyone and everything.
    Regina could see the tension rising in Leo’s stern face. She teetered on a mental tight rope in fierce anticipation of his next words.
    “She sent me a text message. I had gone to bed early that night and the phone woke me up. All she said was that she was going to be home late and to leave the back door unlocked for her. I figured that she was going to try to sneak off to that party. I was so tired I never even got up to unlock the door. I meant to but I fell back to sleep before I could get up. I was just so damned tired.” Leo’s face was beginning to streak with tears as he silently chastised himself.
    “When she was not home in the morning, I knew something was wrong, I knew but I never said anything. I never…said…a…word. I was afraid that my parents would blame me, I was afraidthat it was my fault, that maybe she had come home and when the door wasn’t open she went somewhere else and got hurt. I was so afraid. Why didn’t I just get up and open the door? I don’t know why I am still keeping this secret. Even now, I can’t tell my parents.”
    “It’s not your fault, Leo. Your parents won’t blame you.” Regina assured him. He nodded slightly. Regina grasped his hand tight and pressed her head against his in a sincere gesture of platonic intimacy.
    “The guilt just eats away at me. My wife was the first and only person I ever told. After a while, she was finally able to convince me that it wasn’t my fault, but I still don’t have the heart to tell my parents. I still can’t tell the truth.” Anguish was bubbling inside of him. “Does that make me a bad person, Regina?”
    Regina was shocked by the question, she could barely speak. She had absolutely no answer for him because she was unsure