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Chapter One-Hundred

Author: NYDIA WILLIS
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-05 06:03:23

"Want me to read it to you?" Luke whispered, his hand brushing Amiriam's arm as she sat cross-legged on their porch, the sun dropping low behind her, casting golden edges on the outline of her form.

Amiriam looked down at the journal in her lap—leather-bound, worn creases at the corners, filled with years of her writing. Her fingers caressed the last page.

"No," she breathed. "Not him. This one's for quiet."

James was sleeping in there, wrapped on the couch with a comic book still on his chest. The garden was quiet, the air being hushed with that holy silence only the end of a very, very long journey could possess.

Luke didn't push. He just sat beside her, his hand over hers.

She breathed slowly and closed her eyes, her voice little more than a whisper as she started to read—not for him, but for herself.

—

Last Journal Entry

Date: One year after deciding to remain. Three hundred and sixty-five days of attempting, healing, hoping. And loving.

It wasn't a fairytale.

I have to start with
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  • RECKLESS DESIRES: THE ODEN LEGACY    Chapter One Hundred And Forty-one

    "Luke?" Amiriam's voice was soft, still raspy with sleep. She sat up in bed, sunlight puddling on the sheets. The other side was empty, his pillow already cold.Her gaze fell on the crumpled paper on the nightstand. She reached over and picked it up, thumb tracing over the familiar script.Let's start again. Just us. Just breathe. Just forever.She read it twice, and a third time, the words seeping into her chest.Laughter echoed from the kitchen. She padded bare feet toward it, across the wooden floor.James sat at the counter, his legs swinging as he munched on a pancake in the form of a lopsided heart. Luke stood at the stove, flipping another one."Good morning," Luke said without turning, but with a smile that she'd become able to hear in his voice."Morning," she said, holding up the note. "You left this for me."He glanced over his shoulder. "Thought you'd like to wake up to something other than my snoring."James grinned, syrup on his cheek. "I helped with breakfast. I just bu

  • RECKLESS DESIRES: THE ODEN LEGACY    Chapter One Hundred And Forty

    "Is this all we're bringing?" Amiriam stood in the living room entrance, hands on hips.Luke zipped the duffel bag shut. "We decided no phones, no press, no drama. That means no extra baggage—either literal or metaphorical."James bounced up and down on the couch cushions. "Can I bring my bucket and shovel?"Luke grinned. "Those are the only accommodations.".They had been practicing for weeks, clandestinely, without informing anyone except Rita and Christiana, who were to handle calls or visitors. Victor had tried twice the day before to phone Luke, but Luke had put his phone on silent. Whatever the detective needed to say could wait.This wasn't a week of secrets or of fighting. This was a week of air that smelt of sea, of water that soaked their toes, and mornings without the alarm.The drive to the sea filled most of the morning. James sang some of the time, bits of songs he couldn't quite recall, and some of the time asked if they were "nearly there."When they pulled up to the r

  • RECKLESS DESIRES: THE ODEN LEGACY    Chapter One Hundred And Thirty-nine

    "Luke, will you teach me how to spell 'someone'?"Luke glanced up from where he had stopped to secure a loose hinge on the kitchen cupboard door. James was reclining at the kitchen table, pencil poised between one hand, tongue thrust out in concentration. A notebook lay open in front of him, a few words scrawled across the top in big, sloppy letters."Okay," Luke answered, wiping his hands on a rag and walking over. "S-O-M-E-O-N-E. What about this one?"James hunched over protectively. "It's a surprise."Luke smiled. "A surprise for me?""Maybe," James smiled without looking up.By the time Luke had finished fixing the hinge and Amiriam had stopped by to drop off a bag of groceries, James was still at it—writing, erasing, and writing a third time. His small hand hurt every now and then, but he kept at it.Amiriam leaned forward to look at his shoulder. "Serious looking," she said.James smoothed the paper so that she could only see the top line: What Family Means to Me – Part Two."Wr

  • RECKLESS DESIRES: THE ODEN LEGACY    Chapter One Hundred And Thirty-eight

    "Luke! You have to go to school tomorrow!"Luke looked up from the sink where he was rinsing out the dinner plates. James stood in the kitchen doorway, backpack still on, cheeks red from cold, eyes sparkling."Hold up, champ," Luke said, wringing out his hands. "What's the big deal at school?"James hopped on his toes. "They're having the awards assembly, and I'm getting one! I'm not going to tell you why tomorrow, but you'll have to come. And Amiriam. And Rita. And Christiana. And Mum also. Everyone.".Luke lounged on the counter, smiling at James's barely-contained excitement. "That's a huge guest list. Are you sure the principal can handle all that many Odens and party in one venue?""Yes!" James declared. "You all just have to see it.".The next day, the school auditorium was packed with teachers, siblings, and parents. Folding chairs creaked as people sat down. The stage was decorated with colored paper stars and a banner that read: Celebrating Excellence – Fall Semester.Luke sa

  • RECKLESS DESIRES: THE ODEN LEGACY    Chapter One Hundred And Thirty-seven

    "Are you sure of that?" Luke asked, adjusting the mic stand in front of him.Rita smiled over the rim of her laptop. "I've only been talking about launching this podcast for… what? Two years? And I got you as my very first guest. You must be thrilled.""I am thrilled," Luke replied, sitting down in the chair. "Just… moderately terrified.""Good," Rita replied. "Means you're going to be real.".They sat in the newly renovated attic space of Rita's small apartment—a cozy, sunlit room lined with plush rugs, haphazardly-potted plants, and a hand-me-down desk topped with recording gear she'd splurged on. The podcast was called The Quiet Was Never Safe, and it was for women—and really, anyone—to listen to who had experienced abuse, coercion, and silencing.The concept was simple: honest interviews with advocates and survivors, no script, no pre-rehearsed responses. The intention was to create something that went beyond numbers and policy debate into the messy human landscape.Luke adjusted

  • RECKLESS DESIRES: THE ODEN LEGACY    Chapter One Hundred And Thirty-six

    "Are you ready?" Luke's voice was low, but the nervousness in it was clear.Amiriam walked back and forth just beyond the sheer curtain at the back of the small auditorium, her fingertips brushing against the cool wood of the wall. The muted murmur of voices and the scuff of feet drifted in from the hall where guests were still finding their seats."No," she admitted, her throat tightening. "But I'm going to do it anyway.".Luke smiled lopsided and slight. "That's what makes it brave."The Threadlight center had partnered with a community theater in the area to host their first official public forum since reopening. It wasn't a fundraiser. It wasn't a publicity stunt. It was meant to be a night for listening, for speaking, and for ending the silence around the kind of pain that most people would prefer to disregard.When Amiriam had been invited to speak, she'd said no. Twice. She'd told herself she couldn't stand up in front of strangers and open her chest like that again—not after w

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