Page 15 of Forever King

My sister doesn’t say anything for a long moment, but then she wraps her arms around my shoulders, and I can’t stop the tears this time. I feel so ridiculous. The two of us have been to the city more times than I can count since we were teenagers. We used to sneak away there behind our parents’ backs. Why is one guy taking my wallet affecting me so badly?

“Have you been keeping that to yourself this whole time?” she asks as I continue to cry in her arms.

Shaking my head, I sniffle before leaning away from her. “No, I told Ronan. He was worried I got hurt, but when he found out I wasn’t, he said everything else can be replaced. He’s right, of course. I called my credit card companies and my bank to tell them, and I’ll be getting new cards in the mail this week.”

My sister smiles sweetly, like what I’m saying sounds cute to her. “Honey, it’s great that you handled the financial housekeeping. Now the problem is you didn’t handle the emotional part of having your wallet stolen.”

I sigh, feeling ridiculous hearing her say it like that. “That seems a bit overwrought, don’t you think? Emotional part? I don’t think I had a hundred dollars in cash on me that night.”

Kelly scrunches up her face. “No, that’s not what I mean. Someone attacked you, Kate. They may not have hit you or physically hurt you, but they assaulted you. I’ve been mugged. Even when they only take your purse or your wallet, you’re still terrified for those few seconds when you aren’t sure what they’re going to do. That’s the emotional part I’m talking about.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

“That’s because you were so worried about the wallet part that you didn’t think about the part where you were scared to death. Have you gone to the police?”

I shake my head. “No. I honestly don’t think I could even describe the guy, so why bother? He had dark hair and dark eyes, I think, but I can’t even be sure of those things.”

“White? Black? Hispanic? Asian?”

Shrugging, I answer, “White? I think. Maybe Hispanic. I don’t think he was Asian, and he definitely wasn’t African American. That I know for sure. What does it matter? I can’t remember much of anything about him. The cops aren’t going to get my wallet back, so why bother making a report?”

“Because you’re a victim of a crime, Kate. That’s why.”

A lot of good that does me. I don’t want to be a victim. I just want to be Kate, third-grade teacher and soon-to-be wife of Ronan King. Even worse, thinking of myself as a victim just makes me feel even more awful about what happened.

“So how long do you plan to hide out here instead of going to work?”

I close my eyes as I try to think of an answer other than I don’t know. What I come up with isn’t much better. “I’m unsure. My boss says I need a doctor’s excuse starting today, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”

Kelly pops up from the sofa and grabs her backpack from the floor. “Well, feel free to hang out here whenever you want. I have to head back to school in a few minutes, so you can lounge around and watch TV all day?”

Nodding, I try to smile. “Thanks, Kel. I appreciate you not giving me a hard time about this. Please don’t tell anyone, though, okay? I’ll handle it in my own time. I promise.”

“No problem, but you do need to handle it. If you want names of good therapists, I have a few. Mine were more about figuring out that I’m worth something, even if my jackass ex couldn’t see that, but I’m sure they handle PTSD after crimes. Just let me know.”

Even hearing her describe what I’m experiencing like that makes me feel bad. PTSD? That’s not what I have. I’ve never been to war. I’ve never been in an abusive relationship. I onlyhad my wallet stolen. That doesn’t compare at all to what people who are dealing with real trauma go through.

She breezes out of her apartment, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I still don’t know what I’m going to do about going back to work, but I know I don’t have forever to decide.

As I walk upthe road toward my apartment, I look for that little girl who lives nearby, but I don’t see her. I texted Ronan to know if he’d be home when I should be coming back from work, and he said he’d be over at Marius and Eden’s since he mistakenly thought I was going to be out with my sister, so I’m in the clear.

I hurry up the sidewalk to get inside, relieved my secret is still safe. Tossing my bag onto the sofa, I get a drink of iced tea to quench my thirst before I have to do something that breaks my heart.

It’s for the best, though.

6

Ronan

I nuzzle Kate’sneck as she gets ready for work, happy we have at least a few minutes together. These past few weeks have been insanely busy for both of us, and this afternoon, I’ll hand over the reigns of the foundation to Marius until she and I get back from our honeymoon.

Against her skin, I whisper, “I have to be in the city this afternoon. How about we grab dinner together?”

Kate smiles at my reflection in the mirror but shakes her head. “I wish I could, but remember how I told you I’ve been carpooling with my friend Kara? I’ve been keeping a secret from you. It’s because her boyfriend—well, ex-boyfriend now—he’s been giving her a hard time, so she likes to have people with her for the ride to and from school.”

“Are you sure that’s safe? I don’t like the idea of some guy being a problem and you acting like a barrier for her.”

“Oh, it’s not like that. He’s more of a sad sack, to be honest. He doesn’t do anything bad. He just pesters her and begs her to come back to him. I’m in no danger. Honest.”