by Shae Mallak
"What's wrong with that?" he asked. "There are plenty of people who find happiness and fulfillment in their families. I still enjoy what I do, sure," he shrugged. "But it's not the source of my true happiness. If I was fired tomorrow and lost all my money, it wouldn't destroy me. But losing you—" he crossed the kitchen and cupped my face with his hands. "When I found out I could've lost you..." His voice faltered and cracked and I was surprised to find a few tears streaking his cheeks. "That nearly destroyed me," he admitted softly. "I love you and our little rag-tag family we have here," he chuckled, "and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you."
I think he was expecting some kind of reply along the lines of I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too, but for some reason, the words caught in my throat and I couldn't say them out loud. So instead I buried my face in his chest and held him as tight as I could, hoping my silent actions would be enough to convey what my mouth couldn't yet say.
The rest of the evening was a quiet one, spent in the living room in front of the television with Greg and the twins with the occasional rough housing—Addis was apparently in the habit of surprise-attacking Greg at random moments in the day, resulting in the two of them wrestling on the floor and usually a broken lamp or picture frame. Ava was quiet and unusually cuddly, curled against my side most of the time. Eventually, we carried them upstairs, half asleep, and tucked them into bed.
"I'm sorry, Evie," Ava said suddenly before I flipped off the light.
"For what, Ava?" I asked cautiously. There were probably a million possible things she could be apologizing for from breaking the vase in the living room to forgetting to flush the toilet or not doing her homework. I was not expecting her actual answer.
"For not telling you about Daddy," she said. "My friends told me I couldn't say anything to anyone."
"It's nothing to be sorry for, Ava," I told her seriously. I crossed back over to perch on the edge of her bed and covered her hand with mine affectionately. "It was a difficult position to be in and you did what you felt was right. That's all I could ever ask of you." I studied her worried little face and sighed. "I forget sometimes, Ava, that you're not an average ten-year-old." I chuckled a little and glanced over at Addis. "Neither of you are. You're smart and a lot stronger than I give you credit for, I think. I know you're used to knowing things before they happen, Ava, but I think your friends are right; sometimes its better the rest of us don't know some stuff before it happens. You know?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I understand."
"That being said, I want you both to know that you can always talk to me about anything. And that goes for Greg and Jonah, too," I added.
"Hey, Evie?" Addis said a little uncertainly. His hands gripped the covers as he spoke.
"Yeah, bud?"
"I miss Dad," he said with a sad sniff.
"Me too," Ava echoed.
"I know, me too," I agreed. I leaned over and kissed Ava on the forehead then went to do the same to Addis, who reached up and pulled me down into a hug as well before releasing me. "You know he loved both of you so much," I said, heading back to the door, my hand poised over the light switch.
"Did they catch the man who hurt him?" Ava asked, catching me by surprise again. They were both staring at me with concerned curiosity.
I shouldn't have really been shocked that they knew the truth. It wasn't my intention to keep it from them, but I guess I wanted to wait a little longer until they were older and wiser and...It was ridiculous. Wasn't I just saying they were smarter and stronger than I gave them credit for?
"Yes," I nodded. "They caught him."
"Is he going to prison?" Addis asked.
I slowly shook my head. "No," I replied. "But he can't hurt anyone anymore." I wasn't sure how to tell them it was Trent who did it—that was going to be a harder conversation.
"That's good," Addis nodded. He snuggled down under his covers and closed his eyes, apparently satisfied with the answer.
Ava stared at me a little longer; I wasn't sure how to interpret the look in her eyes. Did she know about Trent? Or what he tried to do to me? I wasn't ready to talk about it, let alone with my little sister, but the haunted look on her face made me think I wouldn't have to, which bothered me more.
"Good night," I repeated and flicked off the light so I wouldn't have to see that look on her face any longer.
Greg was waiting for me in the hallway, full of concern. "You okay?" he asked.
"No," I admitted honestly. "But what am I supposed to do? Lie to them?" I shook my head. "I'm not that kind of person."
"You're right," he agreed. "They deserve to know what really happened."
"Yes, but not tonight," I denied. "I just—I can't." I took a deep breath and realized I was shaking, only noticing the tears after Greg pulled me in for a hug and they stained his shirt.
"It's okay," he murmured. "It's okay, Evie, it's all over. It's over."
If I thought too much about Dad's death and Trent...there was too much I didn't want to remember and thinking about it and that night in the office made me sob and shake in fear. Logically, I knew Trent was dead and could never hurt me or my family ever again, but psychologically, it was like I was back in that office, pinned to the floor, helpless to do anything but cry.
"It's over," Greg repeated softly while he hugged me.
EPILOGUE
Three Months Later
"Date?" Jonah gaped at me in disbelief. "What do you mean you just wanna date?" he bellowed. Greg slowly backed out of the living room, dragging a giggling Ava and Addis with him.
"Well," I shrugged, "With the murder case wrapping up and Dad's funeral behind us, things have finally settled down a little bit," I pointed out. He clearly wasn't understanding where I was going with it. "And soon I'll be busy with school and stuff and we won't have a whole lot of time for each other—"
"We can always find time for each other," he said firmly. The sentiment was sweet but the glare on his face, not so much.
"I'm just saying," I moaned. I rolled my eyes at him and plopped down onto the sofa. He was always so...infuriating! "I would like some semblance of normalcy while I can!"
"Normal?" Jonah scoffed. "Since when have we—or anyone in this family, for that matter—ever resembled any kind of normal?" He threw his hands in the air emphatically.
"It felt pretty normal before you waltzed into our lives, contract in hand!" I shot back.
I deserved the glare I got then but was too stubborn to apologize. All I wanted was a few dates like a normal couple; was that really too much to ask? All things considered, a date was a fairly small request!
Jonah stormed off and stomped up the stairs in an angry huff without another word and I trotted after him, yelling the whole way. He stalked into the office, tugging open a drawer with more force than necessary and slapping a thick stack of papers on the desk.
"You seriously still have a stick up your butt about this thing?" he hollered, gesturing to the contract. He picked it up by the corner and struck a match and held the hot flame to the bottom edge. We both watched it burn and curl into black ashes before he dropped what was left into the metal trash can. "There," he spat. "You can't hold it over my head anymore."
"Please," I scoffed. "We both know it doesn't work that way!"
"Fine!" he growled, and pulled open another drawer. "You stubborn woman!" he shouted, and slapped another document on the desk. "Is that what you wanted?" he cried. "I was going to wait for a more romantic moment to tell you but—hell!—arguing is our foreplay, after all," he scoffed, shoving the document toward me.
I tried to keep my angry composure as I started reading through it but I wasn't successful. I read the first sentence aloud. "'I, Jonah Lyle Carson, hereby revoke my rights of protectorship over Evelyn Elizabeth Aberdeen in full and acknowledge her complete ability to self-sustain—' Jonah! Are you serious?"
"Well, it seemed silly not to, considering everything," he replied. "But if you're going to go de
moting me to boyfriend then I take it back!" He reached across the desk for the document but I backed up a few steps, holding it out of range.
"No way!" I argued. "You can't take it back! It's already done—legal!" I shook the papers at him.
"We both know I have ways around legal," he replied pointedly. I glared at him.
"I'm not demoting you," I sighed, tossing the document onto the desk. "I just..." I dropped into a nearby chair. "I just want a little normal," I said. "We've done everything upside down and backwards and at full speed and I just—I wanted—" I started twisting my engagement ring around my finger, one of my most recent nervous habits. "Never mind," I muttered, shaking my head. "I'm being silly. Forget I said anything." I stood and started to leave, pausing briefly to turn back, nodding at the Revocation on the desk. "Thanks for that, by the way," I said. "Really, it means a lot to me, Jonah." I turned to leave, but never made it to the door.
"Hey, hey—" Jonah crossed the room and blocked my path. He took both my hands in his and frowned down at me. "Ev, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry if you've felt neglected the last few weeks."
"If?" I scoffed, starting to tug my hands away.
"That!" he quickly corrected himself. "That you've felt neglected the last few weeks," he revised. "There's been a lot going on with the merger and selling the house and then the cottage project—" I gave him a look telling him to wrap up his terrible apology. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "You're right—we've done everything backwards at hyper-speed; the least I can do is take you on a few dates.... As long as you're not canceling on me," he grinned, rubbing his thumb over my engagement ring.
"I'm not canceling on you," I groaned, rolling my eyes again. "Geez, Jonah, you're so paranoid. You know—" I smiled up at him. "Technically, we've only been on one date," I pointed out. "What kind of girl marries a guy after only one date?" I teased.
Jonah pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me, bending to bury his face in the crook of my neck. "The best kind," he murmured against my skin.
He started pressing light kisses down my shoulder as his hands slid around my waist and up my shirt, finding the exact spot below my left shoulder blade where he left his mark. He traced the dragon-shaped shadow with the tip of his finger, immediately sending sparks of heat down my spine and between my thighs.
"Cheater," I moaned, arching into him, my hips colliding with his. I wasn't the only one burning with desire. He easily lifted me off the floor and carried me the two feet back to the desk and laid me on top of it. "Did you close the door?" I murmured against his lips.
"No," Greg grunted grouchily from the doorway. I giggled while Jonah shot a glare in his friend's direction, adding a growl for good measure. "I know, I know," Greg muttered. "Know when to walk away quietly." He reached for the doorknob and shut it loudly behind him.
"Where were we?" Jonah moaned. I slid a hand behind his neck and pulled his head back down to mine, wrapping my legs around his waist and grinding against him at the same time, earning a pleasured growl from him.
"Right about here," I murmured, kissing him.
"Mmm," he moaned against my lips. "My favorite place."
THE END
