The Blackout Girl ✔️

chapter thirty-four

Chapter Thirty-Four

"It has come to our attention that the killer who has been terrorizing the Dallas area was apprehended earlier this afternoon. The FBI has no official statements at this time, but the community can rest assured."

Lexi tucked her knees closer to her chest and watched as Cal reached for the remote. He started to change the channel, but she stopped him, her fingers on his wrist.

"Wait," she whispered.

He obliged, dropping his hands back into his lap. "Lexi, are you sure you want to see this?"

She nodded. "Please keep it on. Just a little longer."

Lexi waited for them to say Delaney's name. She knew the media would get a hold of it eventually, even if they didn't have access now. It was only a matter of time before her aunt's mugshot circulated and the limited privacy her family had become exploitable. When they didn't reveal the suspect's identity, Lex was met with a sense of fleeting comfort. She knew it wouldn't last.

"We can watch something else now," she said, glancing away from the glowing screen.

After she dropped the evidence off at the Field Office, she came back to his apartment with a bag packed for an indefinite stay. Her mother and father didn't question it, probably too preoccupied with Delaney's arrest. She didn't know how long she would be staying with Cal, but he'd offered her a place as long as she needed it.

He probably knew why she'd been parked on the couch, watching the news obsessively. Lexi didn't need to spell it out, and he didn't ask her to. He gave her full control over the remote control, letting her flip between channels as she waited for the story to break.

Delaney killed her brother.

Every time she thought about it, it sent a shudder rolling through her. She couldn't believe her aunt was capable of murder, let alone multiple counts of it. If she fell too far into her thoughts, she could see Delaney stabbing him over and over, the image of Q's corpse burning into her brain.

Christ, she thought. Stop it, Lex. Stop it.

Her lips were chapped, indented from her front teeth. The skin inside her cheek was ragged and torn after she gnawed on it enough times to draw blood. Her nervous habits were becoming destructive, and she was searching for a new outlet, something to alleviate the stress as it weighed down on her.

She began to pick at her cuticles, pulling at the skin until it peeled. Cal stopped her immediately, completely in tune with her. It was a wonder he could catch on so quickly.

"Careful," he warned. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

He pressed a gentle kiss to her palm, and she felt her eyes burn at the intimacy. Cal could say so much in a touch, a kiss. Lexi didn't know anyone could be like that.

He switched on a baseball game, but faced her instead of watching. He framed her face and forced her gaze to meet his. There was a tenderness to his touch, one that she'd gotten used to. He was reading her. She let him. Lexi liked to keep her walls up for most everyone, but she made an exception for Cal.

"You're gonna be okay," he told her. "I know it doesn't feel that way now, but you will. Quinton wouldn't..."

Cal's words remained unsaid, hanging in the purgatory of being left unfinished. There were plenty of things Quinton wouldn't have wanted, plenty of dreams he had but couldn't go after. Lexi had no ambition of her own to speak of, nothing like Q. He was the one who was supposed to change the world.