His insides shook.
A crushing weight settled onto his chest.
One that made breathing difficult, much less saying anything as he took to the stage.
He went through the motions, had the cast bowing at the appropriate times, the crowd applauding, and the cast applauding the Senior Citizen Center. But he couldn’t keep his mind on what he was doing, no matter how much he tried.
Just her. Just McKenzie.
Not Shelby.
How could he have said Just McKenzie?
How could he feel that?
He owed Shelby his dedication, his life, because he’d taken hers.
Then it was time for Lance to thank everyone for attending and for their donations to Celebration Graduation.
Only when he went to thank them did more words spill out than he’d meant to say. Words he’d never spoken out loud. Not ever.
“I’ve had people ask me in the past why I’m so passionate about Celebration Graduation,” he began, staring out into the audience without really seeing anyone. “Most of the time I come up with an answer about how I believe in the cause and want to do my part. The truth goes much deeper than that. The truth is that I’m the reason programs such as Celebration Graduation need to exist. At the end of my junior year my girlfriend, who’d just graduated from high school, was killed in a car crash because I made the bad decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol. I lost control of the car and hit a tree. We were both airlifted to a trauma hospital. She died later that night.”
* * *
McKenzie covered her mouth with her hand.
Oh, God. She should have known, should have figured out the truth behind Shelby’s death. Only how could she have?
“So the truth is that my passion about Celebration Graduation, which gives teenagers an alternative to how they spend t
heir graduation night, comes from my own past mistakes. I lived through what I hope to prevent from ever happening again.” Lance’s voice broke and for a moment McKenzie didn’t think he was going to be able to say more, but then he continued.
“Through Celebration Graduation I hope to keep Shelby’s memory alive, to make her life, her death matter, for her to make a difference in others’ lives because she was a very special person and would have done great things in the world had she gotten the chance.”
Tears ran down McKenzie’s face. Dear Lord, she was devastated by the pain inside him. By the guilt inside him. She could hear it wrenched from him. He had loved Shelby.
He did love Shelby.
Lance’s heart belonged to another. Irrevocably.
“Thank you for being here today, for helping me keep Shelby alive in my heart, and for making a difference in our youth’s lives through this wonderful program.”
At first there was a moment of silence, as if the audience wasn’t sure whether to applaud or just sit there, then a single person clapped, then the room burst into applause.
McKenzie watched Lance say something to Lanette. She nodded, and he disappeared off the opposite side of the stage.
McKenzie waited at the side of the stage, but Lance didn’t reappear. After they’d mingled with the crowd, the other performers returned.
“He told me to tell you he was sorry but that he had to leave,” Lanette told her in a low voice so the others couldn’t hear.
“He left?” McKenzie’s heart pounded. He’d left. How could he do that, knowing she was backstage? Knowing she’d come to fight for him?
But she knew.
She recognized exactly what he’d done, because it was something she excelled at.
He’d run.