He started yelling and screaming, dragging Luke awake, raining down blows on his brother.
Sadi screamed at Connor to stop, but he seemed like a man possessed. He was yelling something unintelligible the entire time.
Luke came fully awake and managed to fend off some of Connor’s blows and even land a few of his own. The two brothers wrestled at the side of the bed, finally collapsing on the floor, rolling around, punching each other anywhere they could land blows.
From down the hallway Sadi heard Katelyn’s cries. “Stop it!” Sadi screamed. She was frozen in bed, wondering what on earth was going on. It seemed like the entire world had gone completely crazy.
Sadi finally was able to force herself to throw back the bed covers. She stared at the two men in shock. They had seemed to finally come to an impasse. Connor had Luke pinned to the floor.
“You bastard! You stole my life, you stole my home! You stole Sadi! I remember everything!”
“You’re the crazy bastard!” Luke yelled. “I didn’t steal anything from you. You didn’t want it in the first place!”
“Luke! Connor!” Sadi yelled, approaching the brothers cautiously. She could hear the baby screaming and her nerves were almost shot. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Connor looked at her with such a depth of longing, of sadness, it stopped Sadi’s heart.
“You tell her Connor!” Connor said.
Sadi shook her head. “Someone tell me NOW!”
“This is Connor,” Connor said, pointing at Luke. “He stole my life. He pretended to be me. He married you, took my house. He took everything while I was gone.”
Sadi felt shock wash over her. It couldn’t be true. She looked at Luke, saw the shadow in his eyes, the guilt that lay there plain as day. Suddenly it all made sense. How Luke was seemed so different after the bombing.
How he seemed so wary and guilty and on edge after Connor had been found. The picture in Connor’s wallet. God, how could he have done it? He had pretended to be his brother and married Sadi. He had lied to her this entire time!
Sadi shook her head. She felt hot tears starting to well up and choke her so she ran out of the room. She grabbed the baby out of her crib, bundled her up and placed her in her car seat. Sadi carried a sleeping Connor Jr., who had somehow managed to block out all the commotion, in one arm, the baby in her bucket seat in the other.
She rushed out of the house, not even bothering to get dressed. She grabbed her purse and her car keys. She ran out to the garage, locking the door from the inside behind her. Luke would never find the keys. She had them placed in the key box but she doubted he even knew where that was. They had never locked the garage in their lives.
Sadi placed Connor Jr. in his car seat and attached the baby’s bucket seat to its base. She got in the SUV, ignoring the furious pounding on the garage door. She locked the car doors then opened the overhead door opener.
As she was backing out both brothers tried to stop her, but she refused to slow down. She really didn’t honestly care if she ran one of them over. She knew they would get out of the way if they were smart, but judging from what they had just done, she very much doubted either of them had any intelligence.
Sadi backed down the driveway, ignoring Luke and Connor, who stood off to the side to let her pass then ran after her. She floored the gas pedal and took off down the street. She refused to look behind her.
Chapter 10
Sadi drove until common sense finally took over. God where was she going to go? She had no close friends who she could walk in on in the middle of the night. She had no siblings. She felt truly alone for the first time in a long time. She did know one person whom she could go to. It was a risk but it was either that or a hotel. Sadi knew what her first choice was.
She drove across the city, back to the little blue and white house with the cute porch and the perfectly tended flower gardens. It was the middle of the night. Sadi considered how foolish she was being before she even got out of the SUV and rang the doorbell. Sadi stood there and run her hands until Christine opened the door, bleary eyed from being awoke in the night.
“I uh…. I wasn’t sure where else to go,” Sadi stammered, seeing Christine’s eyes widen in surprise when she took in Sadi’s nightgown, messy hair, and frantic wide eyes.
Christine took a step back and opened the door wide. “Come in,” she said.
“I have the kids in the car. Just let me get them.”
“I’ll help you.”
Christine stepped out of the house in her pajamas as well. Sadi picked up a still sleeping Connor Jr. and Christine got the baby. Once they were inside again, Sadi took a deep breath. She leaned against the closed door, Connor still in her arms.