Free Faith (Rescue Me, A Contemporary Romance) by Elizabeth Nelson

at the time he’d meant it. I’m still alive. He almost had to remind himself these days.
    His mom was getting out of the hospital today though, and his dad’s funeral was this afternoon. She’d planned it all with Lisa’s help from her hospital bed he knew. Of course he wasn’t a part of those gruesome planning sessions. Lisa and Bill had discussed it after hours, just like everything else he’d managed to learn about his own life lately.
    He was supposed to be grabbing his one suit to wear to the funeral, but he hadn’t been able to find it. Hadn’t really looked, truth be told, but the thought of spending more than a few minutes in that room were making him sweat and his stomach clench up like he was going to start throwing up.
    His dad wouldn’t care. If he was looking down on him, Liam knew that his dad would just be wearing his disappointed face. It wouldn’t matter what he was wearing, his dad wouldn’t care at all. Why would he? His son was a screw up. In life. Behind the wheel. And now at his own funeral. Typical, not surprising, and certainly nothing to get worked up over. He’d wear jeans and a flannel like he always did.
    As he walked out the front door and started down the street, he thought he saw someone behind the house out of the corner of his eye. Whirling he turned toward the person, and shouted, “Who is that?”
    No answer came back to him.
    Scared now, but determined to see who it was, he dropped his duffel onto the sidewalk and started back toward the house.
    “Who’s back there?” He shouted again. His words hung like icicles in the cold air.
    Suddenly a girl popped her head out from the side of the garage. The same place their attackers had hid their car the night of the murder.
    “Don’t hurt me. I don’t have anywhere to go.”
    It was Emily.
    “What the fuck?” Liam shouted as he took a giant step back, arms up in defense, head swiveling for her psychotic father. Was he going to be murdered today, like his father?
    “Please, don’t scream!” She pleaded with him, advancing. “I ran away. He doesn’t know I’m here, please don’t start screaming, I’m so sorry.”
    “Help!” Liam screamed frantically.
    Emily started to run and then changed her mind.
    “Please! I’m not going to hurt you I swear. I’m alone. I don’t have anywhere to go.”
    “Help,” he kept screaming and down the street he could hear Lisa scream his name in answer.
    “She’s here,” he shouted, keeping his eye on Emily standing in front of him. “Lisa call the police, she’s here.”
    He didn’t know if Lisa would be able to figure out who he was referring to, but after everything that had happened he knew she wouldn’t hesitate to dial 911 immediately.
    Emily just stood there. Apparently she’d given up trying to convince him of anything. He kept her in front of him and a clear line of sight in back of him. The last thing he wanted was for her psychotic father to sneak up on him.
    Before he knew it, he heard Lisa running up the street behind him.
    “The police are coming, they’re on their way,” she huffed and puffed. She was a solidly built woman, but too many nights in front of the fire with rich comfort food had left her plump and motherly.
    “Holy shit,” she swore uncharacteristically. “Is this the bitch that attacked you guys? Is this Emily?”
    “Fuck you bitch,” Emily cursed back at her with a snarl. “I didn’t attack anyone, I tried to stop him.” But like an animal who knows when it’s cornered she didn’t try to run, just kept a space between them and her.
    Wisely Lisa chose not to respond, but she ran back to her house and grabbed her husband’s rifle in case Emily decided that she didn’t want to be caught today after all.
    “I can’t believe this,” is all she said as she kept the rifle trained on Lisa and Liam safely tucked behind her impressive girth. “I just can’t fucking believe she came back here. I should never have let you go into that