I hug her and squeeze her hand and she continues to smile at me. When I finally pull away, my eyes are brimming in tears and I turn away to wipe them.
“You’re such a crybaby,” she says, smiling.
“I know,” Aiden says. “Has she always been this way?”
“Pretty much.”
“I was just so worried about you,” I say quickly. “I just saw you lying there…”
I can’t bear to finish the statement. It’s all too much and tears well up in my eyes again. I turn away from her and bury my head in Aiden’s shoulder. I feel like such an idiot. And a child. Here I am bawling my eyes out in front of someone who actually suffered. She was the one who went through all that and I’m the one who is begging for attention. But of course, that’s not true. Attention is the last thing I want. My heart is just aching for my friend and I want to take all her pain away, but unfortunately, I can’t. When I finally compose myself enough to turn around, Caroline clears her throat and points to something on the nearby table. I don’t know what she means, but Aiden does. He walks over immediately and hands her the large jug with a straw. Caroline takes a few sips of water and wets her lips. I notice how cracked and brittle they are. Almost bleeding from being so dry.
“Do you want some Chapstick? Or gloss?” I ask.
“No, not right now. Thanks. They have just been pumping me with so many drugs that it really dried everything out.”
Caroline takes another few sips and licks her lips for good measure.
“The cops were here earlier,” she says after a moment.
“They were?” I ask.
“Two of them. One was a detective. He wanted to talk to me right after I woke up.”
“How did it go?” Aiden asks.
“Well, I was still pretty groggy. Not entirely sure what I said to him.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I’m just kidding. Of course.”
I smile.
“They did a rape kit,” she adds.
I nod. I want to know more about it, like what exactly did that entail. But I don’t know if she’s in the mood to talk about it. And I don't want to do anything to make this process worse. I try to think of some polite way to go about talking to her about all of this.
“So…what do you remember about last night?” I ask. “That is, if you want to talk about it at all. Because you totally don’t have to.”
Caroline cracks a smile.
“Your girlfriend is pretty neurotic, you know that?” she asks Aiden. He smiles at her.
“Yes, I’m getting that sense.”
None of us say anything for a few moments. I think that Aiden and I just wait for her to continue, in any way that she sees fit.
“The thing is that I don’t remember much,” she says after a minute. “Taylor and I got into a fight.”
“Taylor?” Aiden asks. “The guy you met on my yacht?”
“Yes. The guy who I thought was a nice guy, but then I caught him flirting with another girl. When I made a scene, another girl came up to me and said that he gave her his number earlier in the night.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful,” I say.
“Well, you know, that’s what you get for trying to date a rich asshole who would buy a woman at an auction, right?” Caroline says, rolling her eyes. It takes her a moment to remember herself.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Present company excluded, of course,” she says to Aiden.
“None taken.” He shrugs and flashes a wide smile. “I get it. Totally.”
“So what happened then?” I ask.
“Well, I was drowning my sorrows at the bar. Tom came over. We started talking about this and that. His issues with Carrie and her parents. Then we decided to go somewhere more private, to one of the rooms at the other end of the house. When I finished my drink, he offered to bring me another.”
Okay, so far, nothing bad happened, I say to myself. So, how the hell did it all go so wrong?
“Well, that’s when things get a little blurry,” Caroline says. “After I had that other drink, I didn’t feel very good. And Tom helped me back to my room. And I don’t remember anything after that.”
“Nothing?” I ask.
“No.”
I feel all color drain from my face.
“What happened?” Caroline asks.
I don’t want to tell her, but she deserves to know the truth. Aiden nudges me a little.
I take a deep breath and tell her what I saw. Every detail. I want to gloss over some, but I don’t dare. She needs to know everything. At least, everything that I saw.
Caroline listens carefully. By the look on her face I can tell that she doesn’t quite yet fully grasp what I’m saying.
“So, you saw him on top of me?” she asks after a while. I nod.
“And I was passed out?”
“Yes.” I nod again. I don’t know how to make this better, but she has to know the truth.
“I guess that’s why the cops were here. And why they wanted to do the rape kit,” she says absentmindedly. I nod again. She turns away from me. I pick up her hand. A single tear runs down her cheek.
Chapter 11 - Ellie
The numbness after the fact…
Driving back from the hospital, Aiden and I aren’t sure what we should do. He wants to go back to New York as soon as possible. He says that he has a lot of work to get back to. But I know that he also wants to get back home because things have become rather complicated here. I mean, we are staying at the home of the people whose future son-in-law I just accused of rape. Don’t get me wrong. I want to go back home, too. Nothing would make me happier. But then there’s Caroline. She’s going to be in the hospital until at least tomorrow and I just don’t feel right leaving her. She is far from home, in a state she has never been to. I called her parents while I was at the hospital, but they won’t be able to come up until tomorrow.
“I just don’t feel right leaving her,” I say to Aiden. “I guess you can go back to New York.”
“No, I’m not letting you stay at that house all alone.”
“Tom’s not there,” I say. The thought of staying at the house sends shivers through me. I don’t want to stay there myself. Too many bad memories. Besides, I’m not the biggest fan of Carrie Warrenhouse on a good day.
“But, no, I don’t really want to stay there,” I say after a moment.
“Let’s get a hotel,” Aiden says.
“What?”
“If you want to stay here to see Caroline more, that’s fine. I can do some work here. I just don’t want to stay at their house.”
I smile at him. That’s perfect. The last thing I want to do is go back to that cottage ever again, let alone stay there. But we do have to get our things, at the very least.
We arrive back the Warrenhouses’ estate half an hour later and head straight into our cottage. I pack up my bag, secretly thankful that I didn’t bring that much stuff. It takes Aiden less than a minute to get all of his. I do one last sweep of the place, including checking the bathroom and all the counters in case I forgot something. I already did a routine check of the outlets because I’m one to always forget a charger.
“So, what should we do now?” I ask after I put my bag next to Aiden’s near the front door. I know that we need to tell the Warrenhouses that we’re leaving, but I really don’t want to. I barely know them as it is and things are quite awkward with Carrie already. She was my boss not too long ago and I did quit without much of a warning. I know that I had good reasons. I suddenly had money and she had been annoying me for way too long. But still, what happened last night is the last thing in the world that I expected.
“We could leave and just call from the road or the hotel,” Aiden says. “But I think that would be a little rude.”
I nod. He’s right, of course.
“They did invite us to their party and they didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Caroline.”
I n
od again. I know all of this. Still, it doesn’t make any of it any easier. A feeling of utter dread descends upon me as I come closer and closer to the eventuality of talking to them again.
“And Robert is very interested in investing in Owl,” Aiden adds. By the tone of his voice, I can tell that he’s doing his best in trying to convince himself to go talk to them as much as he’s trying to convince me.
“Yes, you can’t jeopardize that,” I say decidedly. As far as I can tell, Robert Warrenhouse is Aiden’s Hail Mary. He’s the only thing that can save Owl from falling apart. He’s also the only thing that can probably save Aiden from losing his job.
“C’mon, let’s just say good-bye and then we can get some rest,” I say as Aiden looks down at his feet to avoid eye contact with me.
He sighs deeply as we walk out to our car with our bags.
“You really don’t want to see them?” I ask, handing him my suitcase.
“No, it’s not that,” he says with a shrug. “I just hate feeling like this. So, useless. Impotent even.”
I nod.
“The thing is I’ve run this company since I started it. All of the decisions have always been mine. Everything we did was up to me. I didn’t really need anyone before. At least, I thought I didn’t. And then, Blake did that. Basically ruined my whole business. And now, I find myself in this completely weak and insecure position. I need to go around begging people for money just so I can go back to doing my job.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s just total shit, Ellie. I didn’t do anything wrong. I mean, maybe I trusted him too much. But I didn’t actually screw anyone over. And if the investors had just stayed put, they would have a lot more money in another year. We were on a trajectory to really blow away the competition. Like Facebook when they went public.”
I nod and put my arm around him. I wish there were something I could do. But just like him, I feel completely helpless. In addition to feeling helpless, I also feel like it’s all my fault.
“I’m just so sorry about everything that happened,” I say after a moment of silence. “I can’t help but feel like it’s all my fault.”
“Your fault?” Aiden looks up at me. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know. I shouldn’t have participated in that auction. I had a feeling that something was wrong.”
“No, I was the one who was wrong. I thought it would be fun. Sexy. And now, I just feel like such a fool. I had no idea he would do any of that. I had no idea what an asshole Blake really is. Agh, it makes me so angry,” Aiden says, clenching his fists. “I feel like I could just punch something.”
I put my hand on the small of his back and rub him a little.
“C’mon, let’s just be nice and say good-bye. Get this over with,” I say.
Chapter 12 - Ellie
Questions left unaswered…
I knock on the front door, but no one answers. I knock again and wait. Only after I ring the doorbell, do I hear footsteps on the other side. Carrie answers the door.
“Hey, how are you?” I ask. My voice is flat and mechanical. I just want to get through this and go to the hotel and get some rest.
“We just wanted to thank you and your parents for having us and let you know that we’re going to go to a hotel,” I say without waiting for an answer.
“Oh, okay,” Carrie says quietly. She is dressed in a large puffy sweater and sweatpants. Her eyes are bloodshot and her skin is so pale, I can see the blue veins underneath.
“I’m really sorry about everything, Carrie,” I add. She nods and looks away, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
“Yeah, me, too,” she says after a moment.
I feel like I need to say something else. But another part of me is urging me to leave. We stopped by. We said our good-byes. Why stick around? Lingering can only make things worse.
“Is Tom still with the police?” I ask before I can stop myself.
Carrie nods and shrugs. Aiden tugs on my shirt slightly. “We should go,” he whispers.
I turn around to leave, but then Carrie says, “The thing is that I still don’t really understand what happened.”
Shit, I say to myself.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I’m just confused about the whole thing. I mean, are you sure that you saw him doing that? Tom isn’t…like that you know?”
“Yes, I know. I was surprised, too.”
“I mean, you know him. He’s a really sweet person.”
I stare at her. I don’t really know how to respond to this. A part of me understands where she’s coming from. But I also know what I saw. And it was Tom. And he was doing horrible things to Caroline.
“Listen, thank you for having us,” Aiden says. “Please tell your parents thank you as well.”
I can tell that Aiden is anxious to get out of here. But before we can make our escape, Mr. and Mrs. Warrenhouse show up at the door.
“We just wanted to stop by and say good-bye,” I say to them. “We’re going to stay at a hotel in town. But thank you so much for having us. You have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you for coming,” Mrs. Warrenhouse says absentmindedly. It’s the morning after and all traces of the perfectly put-together chic woman in impossible high heels with the gorgeous waist and hair are gone. Instead, she is dressed in a comfortable pair of leggings, a large oversized sweater, and slippers. She looks tired and worn out. And not just from the party.
“Tom is doing well,” Mr. Warrenhouse says to Carrie. “I just got off the phone with his lawyer.”
I stare at him. Did he really just say that? Did those words really just come out of his mouth? I don’t know if he had forgotten about us or doesn’t really care that we hear.
“Are you sure?” Carrie asks hopefully. “Do you think it’s going to be okay?”
“Well, no guarantees, of course,” Mr. Warrenhouse says. “But I got him set up with one of my most experienced lawyers. Plus, Tom’s not an idiot. His father’s an attorney.”
I glance over at Aiden. He looks just as shocked as I do.
“Wait a second, I don’t understand,” I say. “Why are you taking Tom’s side? I mean, I know he’s your fiancé, but what about what he did to Caroline?”
“Honey, we know that you strongly believe in what you saw. But you weren’t there the whole time,” Mrs. Warrenhouse says to me. “You don’t know how it all happened.”
I take a step back. Suddenly, she doesn’t look so helpless and broken anymore. She’s embodying her position as a matriarch and taking care of her family. I hate the fact that I ever felt bad for her.
“With all due respect, Tom was the attacker. It doesn’t matter what happened before. Caroline was passed out so she couldn’t possibly give her consent.”
“We know that’s what you believe, honey,” she says in her most disgustingly sweet voice. “But the thing is that life isn’t black and white like that.”
“I just don’t understand why you’re taking his side. I mean, do you want your daughter to marry someone like that? Someone who rapes women?”
“Tom did not rape that girl,” Mr. Warrenhouse says definitively. I really thought that he would at least be on Caroline’s side, but now it’s clear to me that this whole family is fucked.
“Yes, he did, Robert,” Aiden says, taking a step closer to me. My heart skips a beat. He’s on my side. It feels so good to have someone on my side.
“I don’t think it’s a good time to discuss this. We have all had very little sleep and the night has been very stressful,” Mrs. Warrenhouse says. “Thank you for coming.”
“Okay,” I mumble. Aiden takes me by the arm and we walk down the steps off their porch.
“Oh, and, Aiden,” Mr. Warrenhouse yells after us. “I’m sorry, but given everything that’s happened, I don’t think it would be wise for me to invest in Owl at this time. I wish you all the best with your future ventures.”
I can’t help but drop Aiden’s h
and. When I reach for it again, Aiden pushes my hand away. I can see the disappointment and sadness on his face, but he quickly composes himself.
“Thank you for your time and consideration,” he says slowly. Wow, what a class act. I want him to run up there and yell at the Warrenhouses and maybe even punch them. But what would that accomplish? Nothing. He doesn’t want to invest in Owl and there’s not much we can do about it.
Aiden unlocks the car and holds the door open for me. A few minutes later, we speed away from this place as quickly as we can.
Chapter 13 - Aiden
When disappointments pile up…
I don’t want Ellie to know just how pissed off I am. I try to hold it back. I try to push it somewhere dark within me - to that same deep place where I put all of my dark thoughts. But I’m only partly successful. Robert Warrenhouse pulling out of Owl is one of the biggest blows I’ve ever suffered. It’s nearly as horrible as Blake pulling out in the first place. But what makes this even more painful is that we finally had a chance. We had an opportunity to get back to where we were. My mind shifts to all of those employees who work for me. What will they do if Owl goes under? How will they find new jobs? They’ll have to move somewhere else. They’ll have to take their kids out of school. Their whole lives will be destroyed. And for what? What exactly did I do wrong? I stood up to Blake for what he did to Ellie; and I stood up for Ellie’s account of what Tom did to Caroline.
Even though all of this happened because Ellie is in my life, I don’t blame her. Not one bit. If it weren’t for her my life wouldn’t be nearly as great now, despite all this shit that I’m dealing with. No. She put my life in perspective. Suddenly, I know what’s important. I know what’s valuable. Before, I was this successful playboy without much to show for anything. I knew how to have a good time, but that was pretty much it. Now, it feels like I have a family again.
Auctioned to Him_Her Addiction Page 6
