Jeremy’s eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes scanned her face as she spoke about the effect Cameron’s death had on her. He felt partially responsible – he should have been the one to handle it. After a while, a person will become numb to the blood on their hands. But, in reality, Tallis would have never let him step in for her. She was determined to be the one to finish what he had started. 

The mood shifted, though, when she brought up Taylor. Jeremy had fantasized about the day they he killed the man that was responsible for the accident, but had long ago decided against to acting on it. It had taken such a long time to conjure up the small amount of peace he had now about Taylor’s death, and reopening old wounds to put an end to the guy would only take him back to the dark place he was in. But now, Tallis was talking about doing just that. And he would have to step in. He couldn’t let her feel anymore guilt than she was already experiencing.

But he remained quiet, and when she rested her forehead on his, he ran his rough fingers through her soft hair. “It’s okay, babe. I went through it, too.” Jeremy pressed a kiss into her forehead, then moved to sit next to her on the couch, pulling her towards him so that he could wrap his arms around her, just as they were before. 

“You’ll get through it.” His hand was now rubbing her back. Even with that fucker dead, he was still tormenting her. Jeremy felt rage bubbling inside of him, but it was futile – there was nothing he could do to Cameron at this point. 

“Let’s get you in the bath,” he spoke quietly, lifting her off of him, standing up, and reaching a hand down to help her off the couch. “I’ll get you a drink, and you can relax for a bit. I’ll get you whatever you need, okay?” 

[center]*****[/center]

“Oh, shit,” Solomon mumbled as he watched Kaci’s demeanor change, and he backed up slowly as she began to yell. He never expected to have to deal with any blowback from what happened on a run – usually the girls were smarter than that. 

Once Kaci began to sob, Solomon inched forward slowly. “K, I’m sorry,” his voice was quiet, but stern. “It was when everything was still a secret.” He began to reach a hand out, but he could tell Kaci didn’t want him to touch her, so he recoiled. “All the guys were getting suspicious, wondering why I wasn’t fuckin’ around.” His fingers rubbed the bridge of his nose forcefully as his mind raced. 

“It was only once, K. I had no idea she’d fuckin’ show up here.” Solomon scratched at his head in frustration, not knowing what to do. “I love you, K. More than anything or anyone. You gotta believe me.” 

He plopped down on the couch with his head in his hands. He knew he was at her mercy, and he’d have to accept whatever she decided, but the thought of losing her felt like it’d be enough to kill him.