by Amity Hope
He stood back and I stepped inside.
“You look so serious,” he said. His tone was already mocking.
“I want you to let Seth stay with Dad and me.”
His eyebrows shot up in amusement. “Oh you do, do you?”
“Yes, and you know why.” My voice was low as I tried to contain the tremble that wanted to break free. “I know what you used to do to your wife. I know why she left. I know that right now, Seth is covered in bruises because of you. You may have been spreading ugly stories about him but that doesn’t mean everyone believes you. All anyone would have to do right now is take one look at him. I’ll tell them what I’ve seen. Not just now but three years ago.”
“Are you finished?” he calmly asked.
He had not flinched as I delivered my monologue. I wasn’t sure that he had even blinked. He had been entirely unaffected. It was clear by the look on his face that I had accomplished nothing.
“No, I’m not finished,” I said, trying again. “Either you let him stay with us or I’m going to his coach, our guidance counselor, our teachers, the city council since you know them all so well, whoever it takes. I’ll tell whoever I need to tell. Or you can just let him stay with us and no one has to know.” My heart was hammering. I would have to tell my Dad, regardless.
“You’re threatening me?” He sounded amused.
I shook my head. “No. I’m just worried about Seth. I won’t say a word to anyone if you just let him move out of this house.”
“You know, it’s funny,” he said, “how people often aren’t what they seem to be.”
I waited for him to elaborate.
“If you want to talk about secrets getting out, let’s do that. What do you think the people of our little town will think when they hear that your dad has been tampering with odometers for years? It’s a felony you know. Felonies are pretty serious business, unless you’re the type of person that enjoys prison. I’m not sure your father would do so well behind bars.”
“He would never—”
“Wouldn’t he? I have documents stating otherwise,” Mr. Ryerson interrupted. He turned and walked away, disappearing down the hallway that led to his office. I stood there for a moment, wondering if I was supposed to follow him. A few moments later, he returned holding a manila folder. “The city council has had numerous complaints about the dealership. I’ve managed to make them go away. It would be a damn shame if the local paper heard about such a scandal.”
For just one small flicker in time, as I eyed up that folder, he made me wonder. Then I resolutely shook my head. “No. He would never.”
A cold, smug smile slid onto his face. He’d caught that tiny moment of doubt. In that instant, I realized what kind of mind game he was playing. He wanted me to know that he’d seen that doubt. And if he’d been able to illicit that kind of doubt in me, if even only for second, what kind of doubt could he illicit from people who didn’t know my dad like I did?
“I’d be careful Miss Monroe. Even if he was never convicted, complaints of that variety could have quite the impact on business. I think we both have a pretty good idea of how damaging words can be to one’s reputation. Your dad has built his businesses on his reputation. It would be a shame to see them crumble because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”
“You’re a bastard.” I wondered how long he’d been planning this. Since Valentine’s? Since the night I’d seen him slam Seth’s arm in the door? I had to wonder what that folder contained. Was it full of blank pages, used simply to scare me? Were there fake documents that he’d prepared himself? Documents that he’d use out of spite, regardless of their authenticity? I had no idea. What I did know was that he wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate.
“And you’re a meddling little wench. I’ll be sure your family isn’t subjected to nasty rumors. In return, I expect that my family won’t be subjected to nasty rumors. I suggest we call a truce. Or at the very least, a stalemate. You make sure my family’s name isn’t dragged through the mud.” He lifted the folder in his hand. “I’ll be sure to do the same for you.”
*****
I had thought that confronting Mr. Ryerson in private, keeping the matter between us, might be the best way to go. I had thought that if we could keep it quiet, between us, he would appreciate the discretion. As usual, I was wrong.
I had no doubt that he was lying about my dad. I also had no doubt that he’d freely toss that lie around. He was right, rumors could be damaging. I couldn’t do that to my dad.
I had a feeling my meddling had just made things worse. I knew I never should’ve gone over there. I just couldn’t take any more sitting around, worrying, waiting for something bad to happen. And I knew it would happen. I knew it with a crushing certainty. That’s why I’d been so desperate to try to step in and stop it.
After I left the Ryerson’s, I went straight to my room. I wondered if I should warn Seth, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I also didn’t want to have to go through Brent to talk to Seth, since he didn’t have his phone. Or maybe that was just an excuse, a way to avoid the issue until morning. I would have to let Seth know what I’d done. And how it had blown up in my face.
When Dad knocked on my door a short time later, I thought it was to tell me dinner was ready. He pushed the door open and I instantly noted his expression.
“I just had a troubling call from Bart,” Dad said.
My heart plummeted. I couldn’t imagine how Bart had twisted around the conversation we’d had, but judging by the look on Dad’s face, I assumed that’s what he’d done. He took a few more steps into my room until he was standing in front of me. I had been sprawled out on my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to make sense of things. As he came in, I pulled myself into a sitting position.
“Bart told me that Seth’s been staying overnight here,” Dad started. Crimson was creeping up his neck, spilling into his cheeks. It was unlike Dad to get mad but I had a feeling Mr. Ryerson had taken every advantage to get him worked up. “The other night, right under my nose, was he here?”
I started shaking my head. That was not what I had expected the conversation to be about, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. “Dad, no. It’s not how it sounds.”
“I trusted you. When I took Paula away for the weekend, I trusted you because you promised me that he would not be spending the night.” He paused as his chest heaved. “Did you have him stay?”
“Yes, but—”
“Harper!” he boomed. “Bart feels that you two should start seeing a little less of each other. At first, I wasn’t sure but after this, I think I agree. I can’t tolerate you sneaking him into your room at night! Do you know how foolish I feel? To have Bart of all people tell me that this has happened several times that he’s been aware of? That boy is not to be staying here! I do not approve of it and neither does Bart.”
I wanted to say it had only happened twice. Yet there was always the possibility that Seth had let himself in and gone down to Dustin’s room without letting me know. I didn’t know if it was likely, but it was possible. At the moment, I decided it was irrelevant.
“I am so disappointed in you,” Dad said quietly.
“Dad! Please, just listen to me. I can explain. I promise,” I said as I hopped off of my bed.
If this was Mr. Ryerson’s scheme to get me not to tell, it backfired. Had he tried to get Dad all worked up about Seth staying the night here so that when I brought it up, Dad would be too angry to even listen to me? Had he been trying to put the idea into Dad’s head that I wanted Seth to stay here simply because he was my boyfriend? Or maybe he simply hadn’t counted on the fact that my Dad would take the time to hear me out. Unlike his relationship with Seth, my Dad and I had gotten close. It was possible that he couldn’t fathom that. Maybe he thought Dad would be so angry he would never believe what I had to say.
Regardless of his reasoning, I felt backed into a wall, cornered. I wasn’t going to lie my way out of it. If this was his way of driving a wedge betw
een Seth and I—that wedge in the form of Dad—I wasn’t going to let that happen either. Maybe I couldn’t stop Bart from bullying Seth but I was not going to let him bully me.
“Explain to me then,” Dad said. I could tell it was a struggle for him to keep his voice calm. I was sure Bart had filled his head with all sorts of incorrect notions about what Seth and I were doing right down the hall from him. “You have two minutes, so get started. And I’m telling you right now, Harper, I want the truth.”
“The weekend you went away, I didn’t plan to have him stay over. He and his dad had a fight. He just needed somewhere to stay. The other night when he came over, it was the same thing. He just needed some space,” I said.
Dad shook his head, visibly unhappy with my explanation.
I tugged my hands through my hair. With each second that passed, Dad’s coloring deepened.
“Let me back up to freshman year,” I said. Dad looked like he was about to protest so I rushed ahead, the words spilling from my mouth. “Freshman year I had a huge crush on Seth. I realized that sometimes, at night, I could see into his house. I realize now just how stalker-ish that was. But I was a kid. I never really saw much. Just a few glimpses of him here and there. But one night, I glanced out the window,” I hesitated, “Bart had Joanne by the throat. He was holding her up against the dining room wall with one hand. He was punching her with the other. Seth came in. He tried to stop it. Bart let Joanne go but he turned on Seth.” I swallowed down tears. “It was bad.”
The color drained from Dad’s face, the crimson being replaced by an unnatural gray shade.
I continued talking.
“He was so much bigger. He threw Seth on the ground and started kicking him. I just stood there. Watching.” Even now, I was so disgusted with myself. I should’ve called the police. I should’ve done something. I should’ve done something other than going to my mom.
“Harper,” Dad said carefully, “that’s a pretty serious accusation to be making.”
I nodded as I wiped at the tears that had spilled down. “I know. But that’s the real reason that Joanne left. Bart hit Lily. Seth swore it was the only time, but Joanne took Lily and ran. That’s why Seth needed somewhere to go. That’s why I let him stay here.” I told Dad about the more recent events.
Dad slowly made his way to the edge of my bed and slumped down on it. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands for a few moments. When he looked at me, his expression had hardened a bit.
“You’ve waited this long to tell someone?”
“No,” I said in a voice that was close to a whisper. “I told Mom. The night it happened, I told Mom.”
Dad shook his head and uttered a few profanities, an action that was so unlike him. “And she did nothing?!”
“She was furious at me for spying. She told me she knew how teenage girls were prone to exaggeration and melodrama. I swore to her that I wasn’t exaggerating. I knew what I saw. She told me that it wasn’t our place to get involved. She said it would be bad for you at the dealership if rumors got out that you had a meddling daughter. She said that Bart was on the city council and no one would believe me. When I brought it up again, a few weeks later, she told me she was sure I was blowing everything out of proportion. She said she didn’t believe that I really saw what I told her I’d seen.”
“I wish you would’ve come to me then,” he said.
Another tear trickled down my cheek. “I wish that too. I want to help him but I don’t know what to do. I confronted Bart tonight. I know that’s why he called you. He wants me to back off.”
“I’ll bet he does,” Dad muttered.
I told him about Bart’s accusation, that he’d been tampering with odometers for years.
“Why would he say that?” Dad demanded.
“He wanted me to know that if I ruined his reputation, he would retaliate. Really, I think he was just trying to scare me off,” I admitted.
Dad’s jaw clenched and unclenched. “Let me make a call to my lawyer. If he makes slanderous, false accusations like that, he could get himself into some trouble. I’d like to see what Stuart advises,” he said, mentioning his lawyer. “I’m not going to let him drag me into this damn mess that he’s created. I’m also going to ask Stuart what he recommends for Seth.”
“It might be more complicated than that,” I admitted. I told him about Seth’s concerns, that his Dad had been laying the groundwork for years, making Seth sound unstable. There was a good possibility that he’d been saying things about Seth that Seth wasn’t even aware of.
Dad shook his head. “You know, that night those cops took Seth away, it just didn’t sit right with me. It didn’t make any sense. It would be nice if we had some proof. Some solid evidence against Bart.”
I hesitated, listening to the sound of my blood crashing in my ears as my heart pounded painfully.
“I have proof,” I finally said. “When Seth stayed here the other night, I set my alarm for early morning. I had the volume way down because I’m a pretty light sleeper, apparently he’s not. It didn’t wake him up when it went off. I turned my lamp on and realized his shirt had ridden up. You could still see the bruising and the gash from where the corner of the shelf hit him. I still had my phone in my hand and…” I let my words trail off because it was pretty obvious what I had done. At the time, I’d felt like it was a complete invasion of his privacy. Now, I didn’t feel any better about it but I was relieved all the same that I had a few shots that clearly depicted the truth.
“Someone should’ve put a stop to this years ago. Sometimes, I just don’t understand your mother.” He suddenly looked weary. “Charlotte told me early on that I could save our marriage. All I had to do was move to Florida with the two of you. I thought about it. I really did. I almost agreed a dozen times. But my businesses were established. A part of me felt a little bitter that I was supposed to give up my career, one that I had worked long and hard for, because she had chosen one three thousand miles away. But when I put the bitterness aside, I realized in the end, it probably wouldn’t have lasted. I hate to speak poorly of her in front of you but sometimes her selfishness is just incomprehensible.”
“I know. But now what?” I asked.
“Come on down to dinner,” he said, though I was sure neither of us had an appetite anymore. “Let me sleep on it and I’ll call my lawyer in the morning. But one way or another, we’ll make sure that Seth gets some help.”
CHAPTER 23
Growing up in Wisconsin, I was familiar with the sound of a gun. In the fall, it always seemed to be one kind of hunting season or another. In the springtime, in the darkness, the sound was unexpected and terrifying.
When the booming echo rang out, it jerked me out of my semi-sleep so quickly that later I wouldn’t remember jumping out of bed. I was only vaguely aware of my feet hitting the floor. I hadn’t been in bed long and had just started to doze off but I was instantly awake.
Without thinking, I was across my room, throwing my door open. I barreled down the staircase into the darkness.
The shot was so close. Too close. I knew instinctively where it had come from. Even as I ran, I prayed that I was wrong.
I heard Dad’s door crash open, was vaguely aware of him fumbling with the hallway light. He flipped it on, nearly blinding us both as I reached the bottom of the staircase.
“Harper!” he called. “Get back here!”
I didn’t stop when he told me to. I didn’t stop to slip into shoes. I flew across the foyer, out the door. I was hyperaware of everything. The sharp splinters of frost cutting into my feet. The smell of wood smoke from a neighbor’s fireplace billowing into the sky. The bitter dampness that clung to the air as I pushed my way across the grass on legs that felt ready to collapse from the weight of my fear. The lights were on inside Seth’s house, glowing brightly against the darkness, splashing out across the yard. I heard Dad behind me, shouting for me to stop but I didn’t. Not until I reached the Ryerson’s front doo
r. Even then, I didn’t stop for long. The knob turned in my hand and I stumbled into the foyer for the second time that night.
I drew in a breath to call out Seth’s name but the words became jammed in my throat. I took another step inside as Dad’s footsteps neared. The breath I’d drawn escaped as a strangled sob. Blood was pooling across the floor, spreading from the opening of the kitchen out into the hallway.
My hand flew to my mouth and the world spun around me.
In that moment, I registered how eerily silent the house was. I moved forward on trembling legs as each breath tore at my throat. A body on the floor came into my sight as Dad burst through the front door. He was only seconds behind me but it felt like an eternity as I stood there, trapped in time that was frozen, taking in my surroundings.
A foot clad in a black dress shoe came into view as I edged nearer.
At the sight of it, another sob escaped me. This one, a sob of relief. I felt Dad’s fingers slide around my arm the same moment I burst forward again, slipping from his grip. I blocked out the sight of the body as I edged my way past the blood, into the kitchen.
The table was overturned. The glass bowl that had been its centerpiece was shattered on the floor. Chairs were toppled and at least one was broken. I spotted the gun on the floor near the dishwasher. The basket that sat on the counter, holding the mail, was crushed, its contents spread around the room.
My sense of relief was so intense it was nearly crushing when my eyes fell on Seth. He was on the kitchen floor, back pressed against the cabinet, knees pulled to his chest. His arms were wrapped around his knees as he stared blankly toward the body of his father. His face was ghost-pale, his expression was blank. Even as I ran to him, dropping to my knees beside him, I could see that he was physically shaking.
I could hear Dad behind me but I wasn’t aware of what he was doing. Seth had my full attention.
“Seth, Seth, look at me.” I placed my hands on his cheeks, tilting his head so that he would have to look at me. Or at the very least look away from the horrific sight on the floor. His chest heaved and his face crumpled into a look of pure agony. His eyes remained unfocused, I wasn’t sure if he was seeing me at all.
