by Leaona Luxx
Now, the question is can I use this to hurt her? No matter how this goes down, we’re all affected by the information in this autopsy. Why Eric never shared this, I have no clue. He could’ve gotten so much more than just my car.
And Walker. He knew exactly what this information meant to all of us. Why hide this? What does he have to gain by hiding something like this from me, from Thayer? She’s the only person that’s going to get hurt with what’s in this report. The hurt that only lies can inflict. Lies that can and will destroy.
Running errands all day, I drop into the nearest seat the minute I’m through the door. The wedding is tomorrow, and I still have so much to do. Lea, the girls, and I went for manicures and pedicures today. It was so nice to just be with family.
Lea told me that One had finally coaxed Hardy back to work, she seemed pleased at the fact. She also eluded to something going on with Hardy earlier in the week. I hinted for details, but she was tight-lipped. It’s probably for the best, I don’t need to know anything more about him.
Our near kiss at the engagement party still haunts me, but damn those dreams. What am I doing? I’m marrying Hardy. Damn. Walker, I’m marrying Walker tomorrow. Rolling my eyes, I grab a handful of bags as I traipse to my bedroom.
My house sits in boxes everywhere. I trip over one in the hall, almost taking out Bindi’s cage. Buying Bindi was a last-minute decision; I had to have him. He’s the sweetest Collie ever, although I don’t think Walker likes him.
Picking myself and my packages up off the floor, Bindi begins to bark. I set my stuff inside my bedroom door when I hear the knock at the door. Kicking my shoes off, I hurry back through the house. Peeping through the hole, I smile at the surprise on the other side of the door—my brothers.
“Hey, you two. Come on in.” Swinging the door wide, I hug each as they step inside. “Have a seat, want a drink?” They decline as One tugs me by the hand to his side.
“You ready for your big day?” Chord asks as he sits on the other side of me on the couch. We all prop our feet up on the table, getting comfortable. “Mom would be so pissed if she saw this.” We giggle at the thought.
“So to what do I owe this honor?” I ask, twisting my head from side to side to look at both of them.
“I want to talk about Hardy. And I want you to listen, can you do that? Please?” I contemplate One’s request before nodding.
“We have some information we feel you should know. Now, you can choose to believe it or you can go straight to the source.” Chord lays his hand on top of mine.
“But just know, Tay, we love you. We’re telling you this against Hardy’s wishes.” My brow furrows, asking an unspoken question.
“When Kipton searched for Hardy, he hired another guy to help with the search in Charleston. You met him at the party the other night, Chet Norwood?” One asks. "Chet found some information about Erica’s death and sold it to the highest bidders. Walker and Hardy. Walker paid him a $150,000 for the information almost three weeks ago. Chet approached Hardy at the engagement party. Chord overheard it. Hardy was making plans to take the sale from his house to pay the fucker in hopes it would reveal something and he could win you back.
He asked Hardy for $250,000. He was willing to go broke to win you back. Lea deposited the money into Hardy’s account, and we set up a sting. We got him arrested after getting the papers. We combed through them for hours the other day. Finally, I found what was so important.
Erica had been dead two days before Hardy left town with me. He told the truth for all these years. She had disappeared with another man who was also found dead.” One pauses when he sees I’m shaking.
“Hardy spent all these years thinking this was his fault. I’m so happy he knows he did what he could, that he’s a good man,” I say as I wipe a tear as it falls.
“You have no clue. The baby had a DNA test. It was for cause of death and medical records, like blood testing. The baby wasn’t Hardy’s. He paid for a funeral and the expenses for a family that were never his. Hardy was pleased to know you were right.” Chord pats my knee after One stops to tell me the next part.
“He said you always had faith he was a good man. Saying you believed he deserved a great love.” One knocks into my knee as Chord finishes.
“Is there more?” I ask the both of them, turning my head from side to side to see them look at each other. Their eyes flash to one another as they fight a war without a word being said. “What?”
“There’s more, but it’s not our place to tell you.” Chord lays back on the couch with an exasperated sigh.
“He believes in your love. He said you’ll come back on your own, just like he did. That the two of you are destined.” One smiles at me. “Damn man believes in you so much, it made him believe in himself. That’s love.”
“What is it he didn’t want me to know?” They trade a look again; One’s face says ‘don’t’, but Chord’s expression is all for telling me. “Tell me.” Chord stands, pushing up his sleeves as One joins him.
“Talk to Hardy and Walker. They need to be the ones to tell you. We’ve already told more than we should have. I’ve got a woman waiting. I’m sure Lea’s waiting for One to impregnate her again. What’s up with that, bun in the oven yet?” Chord is gonna get his ass beat.
“I tell you what, little brother, I’ll let her know you said it, she can take care of you.” One hits Chord in the stomach. “I can only hope she’s waiting on me like that when I get home. God knows, I love her pregnant.” Chord and I trade a look before we burst with laughter.
“Yeah, we know,” we say in unison, making us laugh louder. One smirks at us as he drags me into a hug.
I try to make a little order in my house after my brothers’ leave, but it’s of no use, it’s a disaster. Just before bed, I take Bindi out. Snuggling into a sweatshirt, I inhale deeply, loving the comforting scent. It elicits a warm, nostalgic feeling deep inside me. A comfort I haven’t felt in a long time, Something I’ve been missing.
I keep running Hardy’s story over in my mind, what it has to do with Walker. I grab my keys and help Bindi into the truck. It’s time I talk with an old friend. Turning onto Highway Seventeen, I think to myself how I could drive this road with my eyes closed.
I drive out to Still Creek. Taking the dirt road to the clearing where so many of my days have been spent in the last year. Looking toward the pond for the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with before everything failed and the dam broke.
There, by the pond, the old metal glistens under the full autumn moon from the dew that has fallen on it. Hardy sits in his truck, head against the back glass. It’s a cool November night, even for the beach. He must be freezing his ass off.
He hasn’t so much as moved when I pull alongside his truck, just rolls the window down in response to mine. Lulu peers over at Bindi when his little bark disturbs her. She looks so good; I have to hug her. I jump from my truck, running around to Hardy’s passenger side to yank the door open.
Lulu practically assaults me with love and kisses. I break into a giggling fit as we fall to the ground. We wrestle as she licks me, making me laugh even louder. I’ve missed her so much. I hear a little bark then another. It’s enough to interrupt our reunion.
Glancing up, Hardy stands with Bindi in his arms. Bindi is licking Hardy’s face as he tries to hold off the little ball of fur. I’m not sure which is more adorable, Bindi’s love licks or Hardy’s smile? He looks down at me stretching his hand out in an offer to help me up.
“Ground’s cold, you don’t need to get sick before your big day.” My smile fades, and I refuse his hand for the help up, making him chuckle. “Seems as though we’ve been here before.” I narrow my eyes at him.
“Yeah, you kept saying you didn’t want me then, either. So what’s new?” He narrows his eyes at me now.
“Nothing. Still secretly want you, still trying to figure out why you’re here.” Smartass. He knows it too by the smirk growing on his face.
“I want to hear it from you. All of it, Hardy. I deserve that much.” Helping Lulu back into the truck, Hardy sets Bindi in with her.
“Erica died a few days before I even left town. I wasn’t with her. The baby wasn’t mine. I’m sure someone in the family has told you this already, so why the need to hear it from me?” He’s such a fucking asshole.
“Not that part, the other stuff. What’s Walker got to do with it? Other than going to college with the guy.” Hardy turns around, walking to the back of his truck. He pulls the tailgate down, sliding across it to get comfortable.
“No, Thayer. That’s his business, I’m not playing a game to win you back. My love is sufficient to do it; I don’t need to hide from you another minute. That’s how I lost you in the first place, I’ll never do it again.” Hardy looks at the ground as he grips the bed.
Maybe it’s the moon, maybe it’s love, but in the chilly fall air, goose bumps run up my back as the hair on my body stands to attention. Hardy’s cologne assaults my senses, and I’m overcome with just how perfect this man is. He’s willing to let me go for all the wrong reasons and to refuse me for all the right ones.
Still, I think of his words and realize he’s got it all wrong. Why he left. Why he came back. Why I’m standing here, waiting on him. He can’t see why I won’t come back. Why I refuse to be with a man who doesn’t believe in us.
“Is that the reason you believe you lost me?” I thought for sure he had learned something. Damn, will he never learn? This is the exact reason I kept walking after One and Lea’s wedding. He just sits there, eyes downcast, believing in everything but us. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”
Angry, I rush over to his truck door, jerking it open and taking Bindi in my arms. A quick pat on the head for Lulu, and I’m around the front of his truck, climbing into mine. I grab the handle to slam the door shut, but it doesn’t move. Hardy.
“What? What now? Are you going to tell me again how you love me? How you fucked up? Guess what? I know. I was the one who had to withstand the storm when you walked away. I was the one who just about drowned in the flood. You just left. No excuses. No fighting. Nothing. Not even love.” Flipping my key in the ignition, my overhead lights come on, and I see Hardy’s eyes.
He stands before me a different man. His eyes are no longer downcast but staring into my soul. A soft smile plays on his mouth as he reaches out to caress my cheek with his hand. I fight the urge to lean into his touch; his warmth is something I’ve missed. Especially now, when I suddenly feel so cold.
“I have no interest in telling you what Walker did or didn’t do, Thayer. You‘ve believed in us from minute one. It’s always been enough to see us through the storm. Once you realize you still do, you’ll find your way home.” His hand leaves my face; it’s replaced with the cold sting of emptiness.
He backs away, shutting my door. I pull away as he stands there in the dark of the night. I drive for hours, trying to make sense of my life. Walker knows I don’t love him the way I love Hardy, but Hardy can’t be trusted. He walked away, he left me. He won’t even fight for me.
Walker has never had a doubt in us, believing our love will make it. Hardy doubts us at every turn. Never believing we could make it until now. Why now? What’s the change in him? He’s so sure that my love will pull us through this hell he’s created. Why does love have to be so complicated?
Walker has sustained our love, even when I couldn’t; he carried our love. Strong and sure, encouraging me to continue to hold on. I’ve always had to be the one to do that with Hardy. He’s always felt his love was enough but that he wasn’t equal. He’s been my other half all my life, we just hadn’t become one yet.
Now, just hours before I’m supposed to marry an amazing man, he tells me he’s always believed my love would be enough to guide us home. He believed our love was strong enough to see us through any storm. A storm he created.
As dawn breaks, I shiver in the morning air. When the door opens, I don’t even turn around, we’ve been here before. He joins me on the top step, waiting for me to talk. I have so much to say but oddly enough, not to him.
“What are you keeping from me? Don’t say nothing, I know you are,” I say, sighing as I try to steady my nerves.
“What do you mean, Thayer?”
“You know what I mean. You know I hire detectives to find the things I can’t find.”
“I’m not sure where this is coming from.” He starts to shift in his seat.
“Are you going to make me tell you?” Standing, I turn on him in defiance.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Thayer?” Walker jumps up, making a grab for me. I pull away.
“Even Hardy admitted what he had done. Can’t you be a fucking man?” Seething at him, I pray he doesn’t call my bluff of knowing the truth.
“Lower your voice, Thayer. Get the fuck in the house before people hear you.” He tugs at my hoodie which incenses me. Not as much for the action but as for the fact it’s Hardy’s sweatshirt.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I pull back, losing my balance, but I right myself before I fall.
“Yeah, goddamn it. He told the truth. On his fucking knees because he got busted. He had no choice.” Walker’s in my face before I can get up.
“At least he didn’t lie to my face, mother fucker. Now, get the hell away from me before I wake the whole damn neighborhood, asshole.” My voice rings with a vibrato as I start to stand.
“He told you? Talk about a pussy mother fucker. How’d he find out?” Walker’s back in my face as I strain to look up at him.
“Your good ole buddy, Chet. I was worth more to Hardy, apparently.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I jut my chin out in defiance.
“He’s fucking trash.” Walker wraps his hands around my biceps, his grip increasing with the hatred in his eyes. “You would’ve ended up just like my sister, Sallie.” Spittle flies from his mouth as if it’s foaming.
“What does Sallie have to do with Hardy?” I struggle to get away from his hold.
“Hardy will do the same thing to you.” The pressure on my arms increase to the point that I cringe.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Walker?” Fear grips me.
“Hardy was in foster care with the fucking monster that killed my sister. He beat her to a pulp when she tried to leave him,” he explains to my horror.
“I’m not following what this has to do with Hardy.” I have to know.
“The mother fucker’s defense was the so-called abuse in the foster home he shared with Hardy. The sick fuckers all lived together, hurting little girls. He said the things they endured made him sick. Hardy killed Erica and that baby, I had no clue she knew him when I met her. I’m trying to save you from being fucking murdered.” His eyes have glazed over; he’s lost his mind. I’ve gotta get out of here.
“Now, you admit it?” Baiting him for all I have.
“She was a whore. A drug-addicted whore. Can’t you understand they belonged together? Not us, we’re different. Hardy’s just like his family, sick fuckers.” The look in his eyes begins to frighten me.
“No, I’m not just like you.” Walker shakes me, knocking my hair down as I begin to scream.
“Erica was a mistake. An alcohol-induced one-night stand. We were at a game, went to a local bar. Erica was there, drunk and drugged out. We hooked up to get some blow. I had been depressed over Sallie and decided to blow off some steam. I hooked up with Erica. How was I supposed to know she was going to get pregnant? Eventually, Hardy came back around, and I was glad to be fucking rid of the whore. You don’t know how thankful I was to learn she had died.
“But then, Chet turns up with an autopsy and a DNA test. No trace. None. If I hadn’t gone to the doctor with her and took the test to prove I was the father so I could pay for her abortion, there would’ve never been any evidence. I had no clue she didn’t get the damn thing taken care of but bought drugs with the money I gave her for it instead. Fucking cunt.�
�� About the time he releases me, I jerk away. Flying backward, I land on my ass. I sit there, gathering myself. When I look up, Walker steps back. I rise to my feet and go after him.
“You mother fucker. You knew you were the father to Erica’s baby? You knew and let Hardy pay? In more ways than one? Fucking dirtbag. You’re right, you are different than us. You’re fucking trash, asshole. Hardy’s paid a hefty price for your damn mistake. He’ll not pay another minute.” I push him away from me.
“I knew he’d tell you. I wouldn’t expect anything less from that bastard. He’s as sick and depraved as his siblings. He’ll kill you just like that fucker did Sallie,” Walker yells at me as I walk away. “I thought if you knew it wasn’t his kid, you would go back to him. So I decided to hide it from you.”
Suddenly, I’m knocked to the ground. Walker presses into my back, his forearm digging into my shoulder. His breath against my ear. For the first time, I’m scared of him.
“Do you think you can just walk away from me? I’m trying to save you, Thayer. He’ll hurt you.” His teeth grind on every word.
“He didn’t tell me, you just did. It never mattered to me if he did or didn’t have a baby. Or if he left her. He paid for his wrongs, he righted them.” Panting my words from the weight of him on me.
“You’d risk him hurting you?” Walker sounds dumbfounded.
“Like you are now? No. But Hardy would never lay a hand on me. It was because he didn’t believe we could make it through the storm. What love is worth the trouble if it can’t shelter you when you need it most?”
“You’re going back to him?” Walker presses his elbow deeper. His fingers dig into my biceps.
“Move, Walker. People can see you holding me down. This is abuse just like what Sallie went through.” Trying to calm my voice from the panic I feel.
He rolls off me, and I scramble to my feet. Searching his eyes for a grain of understanding as to what he’s just done. Wanting to control life so completely, Walker nearly became the monster that killed his sister.
Abuse has so many faces, but this is one I never expected. Holding so tightly onto someone that it manifests from protection to control. Turning from mental abuse to physical before it can be contained.
