“What has he done now?” asks Mom with venom in her voice.
Unable to speak, I shake my head. Mom squeezes my arm and stalks out of the room.
“Oh, dear,” whispers Ashlea as she watches Mom leave. “What happened?”
I shake my head. “N-Nothing. I’m fine, really.”
“This is not what fine looks like, Athena. Tell me.”
I can’t.
I can’t.
I can’t.
This is my mantra that I’m chanting over and over in my head, all the while I’m crying and shaking my head from side to side. If I tell Ashlea, she’ll tell TB, and then he’ll tell Mom and Dad. Everyone will know. And then I won’t be okay. I’ll have to face what happened, and I’ve done very well keeping it all hidden—secret, my secret. The voices outside grow louder, and I realize it’s Mom.
Brushing the tears off my face, I run toward the front of my family home. Dad is between Mom and Kris.
“You will not do this again!”
“Mrs. Boswell
“Don’t you dare! Do you know what happened to her last time?” Mom points at him. “No, you don’t. I love you like a son, Kris, but you are not mine. I will not let you pull this shit again. So, I’m asking you, are you leaving?”
“Betty, calm down.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Dean. Do you remember how she was? Do you?” yells Mom.
I’m hanging back in the hallway listening.
“It’s not about me leaving, Mr. and Mrs. Boswell. I want Athena to come with me to LA to build a life, but if she does…” Kris’ words trail off.
“They’ll find out what happened to her in New York,” whispers Dad.
“Oh my God, no,” replies Mom in the same hushed tone.
I feel Ashlea’s arms around me, and I look at her face. She’s crying, and it’s then I realize they all know.
“Y-You knew?” I choke out.
Ashlea nods. “TB went to New York the moment you went missing. Your boss told him you didn’t want us told. He…” Ashlea pauses and looks beyond me. “We hoped that one day you’d share. No one wanted to push you, honey, but as time wore on, we all understood you just wanted to forget. So, we never asked you.”
My legs buckle, and I slide to the floor. Ashlea follows me down all the while stroking my hair.
“Oh, honey.” I feel Mom holding my hand and then rougher hands that I know are my father’s.
The tears keep coming, and they turn into sobs as my family does their best to comfort me. When I finally can see through my tears, Ashlea, Mom, Dad, and Kris are all sitting on the floor in the entryway with me. All of us are crying. This whole time I thought I’d protected my family from my worst nightmare, but they were right there with me.
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Oh, honey, you were broken inside and out. You needed time to heal, so we let you do that. Sweetheart, if you never wanted to talk about it, that’s okay, we love you,” replies Mom.
“I’m so sorry.”
Dad rubs my leg. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Finally, I look Kris in the eyes. “Did you know?”
“I found out recently.” I close my eyes and shake my head as more tears flow, then I feel his hands on my face. “Open your eyes, babe.” I shake my head. “Athena, open your eyes.” By their own volition, my eyes fly open. “Nothing has changed, you’re still you.” Shaking my head, Kris wipes my tears and nods. “You’re still you.”
“He’s right, honey,” agrees Mom.
Dad makes a noise, gets up on his knees, and grabs my hand. I’ve only seen my dad cry a few times in my life, and it breaks my heart to see him this way.
“You are the same perfect human being that I helped create and bring into this world. Those animals got what they deserved.” Dad makes a sobbing noise as he drags in more air.
Looking at the people I love most in the world, I see that although I thought I was going through this alone, they’ve been suffering right along with me.
***
Maybe it was ten minutes, maybe it was hours, my family sat with me in that hallway until I couldn’t cry anymore. Ashlea took me home, and we talked about all of it. Every grisly, horrible detail. Now, I’m curled up in bed, numb from letting it all come out. There’s a knock at my door, and as much as I don’t want to face anyone, I know I have to.
“Yes?”
The door opens a foot, and Kris sticks his head in. “Want company?”
I shrug, not knowing how I feel.
He pushes the door open, and in one hand he has a chocolate bar and the other a cup of tea. “I bring gifts.”
As though I can’t help it, I smile. “I like gifts.”
Kris comes into the room and kicks the door shut. “Well, I have the best gift. Me.”
I laugh as he places the tea next to me on the bedside table, walks around it, kicks off his shoes, and lies next to me. Kris opens the chocolate and breaks off a piece putting it into his mouth.
“Hey, I thought that was mine?”
“I told you I’m the gift.”
He breaks off another piece.
“Have you heard the law about not getting between a woman and chocolate?”
Kris pops the chocolate into his mouth. “That’s a real thing?”
I pull the bar out of his hand and put it on my side table. “Fuck, yes, it is.”
He trails a finger up my arm. “You okay?”
I nod.
“Can I do anything?”
Picking up the chocolate, I smile. “This is good.”
Kris kisses my arm. “Want me to stay?”
“Not sure I’m good company.”
“Is Ashlea here?”
“Yep. Guess she’s in the guest room.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Okay, I’m going to go rummage through your fridge and cook something, and you and Ashlea are going to either sit out by the firepit or in your garden.” Kris kisses my arm again and stands.
“Kris?”
He turns, one eyebrow raised. “Hmm?”
“How can you want to be with me?” It comes out strangled, my voice is alien to me.
Pursing his lips, Kris sits on the bed beside me and it dips, I roll into him, encircling him with my body. Kris brushes the hair on my face.
“Athena, it’s the other way around. I left you. You have no idea how grateful I am that you let me back in, that you made it easy for me. You could have let me twist in the wind. I really believed you and Todd were an item. You could have let me leave believing that, but instead, you took another chance on me, and, baby, I’m not fucking this up.”
I’ve never seen him so serious. His eyes bore into mine, and he strokes my hair.
“I’m not talking about that. I am talking about—”
Kris holds a finger over my lips. “Do not even let that enter your pretty little head. I’m sorry for what happened to you. I want to rain hurt down on those men. But if that hadn’t happened, you would have found a Todd.” He smiles and shakes his head. “Well, apart from the gay part, you would have found a man and settled down. I haven’t been a monk in LA—”
“That’s different.”
“You’re right, it is. You were forced, and one day you and I are going to sit down and talk all that out, but know it doesn’t change how I feel about you. It doesn’t even enter my head. To me, you’re perfect.”
I want so badly to believe him.
Closing my eyes, so I can’t see the depth of his emotions, I say, “It was my fault.”
I hear his intake of breath and feel the absence of him as he moves away from me, and I wait, eyes closed for him to speak, and there’s nothing. Counting to ten in my head, I open my eyes, and he’s there, kneeling on the floor with those piercing blue eyes, staring at me with so much compassion.
“There’s nothing you can say that will ever make me believe it was your fault. Those animals are the ones I blame
. Not you, never you.”
Nodding, I sit up. “Do you want some help in the kitchen?”
“Nope, I want you to get Ashlea, grab a bottle of something out of the fridge, and go outside. Relax, you two have a big day tomorrow.”
“Oh, shit, tomorrow.” Raising a hand to my forehead, I groan. “Do I have to go?”
“Yep, you’re there for the bride, I’m there for the groom. It’s our job to make sure they make it to the chapel on time.”
Kris stands and opens my bedroom door. Ashlea is on the other side, her hand raised as though she’s about to knock.
“Kris?”
“Hey, Ashlea, we were just coming to get you. I’m going to cook you two a meal, and you two are going to drink a bottle of something outside.”
“Who’s looking after TB?”
“Right now, his dad. But when I’m done here, I’ll go check on him.”
Ashlea smiles, then looks at me. “Seems like he’s got it all sorted.”
Walking toward her, Kris moves out of the way, and I embrace her. “He does. Let’s go see what’s in my fridge.”
Ashlea beams at me. “I am hungry.”
“Not thirsty?” I ask.
“Your taste in wine sucks.”
Kris makes a noise then bursts out laughing.
Ashlea nods. “It’s true.”
“Well, you ladies best go look and see if there’s something in there you both might like.”
Rolling my eyes, I drag Ashlea out to my refrigerator. She opens it, and there are six bottles of Moët Champagne on the door.
“Yay!” cries Ashlea.
“Did you do this?”
Kris smiles and nods. “And I may have lied about cooking you something.”
I cock my head to the side. “What have you done?”
“Hiding in your oven are takeout containers from the Thai place in town. I was going to try and pass it off as my own.”
He rubs the back of his neck and looks sheepish. The only word I can think of to describe him is adorable. Throwing my arms around his neck, I kiss him.
“Thank you.”
“So, you’re not mad?”
“I’m totally mad,” interjects Ashlea.
We both look at her.
“Why?” we ask unison.
“You have a fridge full of bubbles, and I’m getting married tomorrow. There’s no way I can drink that much.” Ashlea throws her arms in the air. “It’s not fair!”
Disentangling myself from Kris, I hug Ashlea.
“We can have one bottle.”
Ashlea gives me a sideways glance. “Yeah, I guess.”
Kris laughs. “Okay, ladies, I’m outta here. I have a groom to look after.” He puts his hands in his pockets. “Walk me to my car?”
“Sure.” Turning to Ashlea, I ask, “Are you okay to serve everything up?”
“I’ll start with the bubbles, then work on the food.”
Shaking my head, I grab Kris’ hand, and we walk down the path to his car.
“You know this path is a death trap.”
“You sound like Todd.”
Kris shrugs. “Doesn’t make him wrong.”
“Just because you two have a penis doesn’t make you right,” I counter.
“Whoa! You’re using the penis card? It’s got nothing to do with that, it has to do with this path is dangerous.”
We hit the bottom of the stairs, and I wind a hand around his neck. “There’s no other way up to my home. I’ve installed lights for night, the stairs have been prepared, there’s not much else I can do.”
Kris looks up the hill, and his lips turn down. “I’ll think about it. There’s gotta be something.”
His gaze comes back to me, he smiles and cups my face.
“See you later?”
Kris tilts his head back, exposing his neck and laughs. “Yeah, babe, I’ll be back.”
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m just happy you want me back.”
Chapter Seventeen
Kris
The café is closed, but TB is in the kitchen cooking us breakfast. It doesn’t seem right on one of the biggest days of his life, but he said he needed to keep busy. I’m sitting on a stool near his stainless-steel worktable that’s in the center of the room. The bell above the door to the front of the cafe sounds, and we both stop talking and look in that direction. Shannon walks in, her red hair is perfectly styled.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
Shannon grabs another stool and sits next to me.
“What are you doing here?” asks TB as he flips over a piece of bacon.
“I knew you’d be a bundle of nervous energy, and as your female best friend, I wanted to be here for you.”
“Female best friend?” I ask loudly as I stare at TB.
Shannon shrugs. “Well, you’re his male best friend, but you haven’t exactly been around. He needed a friend.”
TB puts his spatula on its side and taps it repeatedly on the grill. “Ashlea is my female best friend.”
Shannon giggles. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Okay, so the wedding is at eleven. Is your suit pressed?” TB nods. “Do you have the ring?” she asks, looking at me.
“There’s a ring?” I ask straight-faced, leaving my mouth open.
“Oh, I get it, you think you’re funny.” Shannon puts her hands on her hips and tries to look mad.
Reaching out, I squeeze her arm. “Be cool. I have it.” I tap my imaginary top pocket.
“What do you want for breakfast, Shan?”
“Pancakes, and does he have it?”
TB turns and shakes his head. “Not yet. It’s safe and sound at Mom and Dad’s.” TB points his spatula at me. “Stop teasing her.”
“See, I told you I was his best friend,” whispers Shannon then louder, “Did Ashlea’s parents arrive?”
“Yep. They are staying with Mom and Dad.” TB looks at me. “How’s my sister and bride-to-be?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I reply, feigning innocence.
Shannon giggles. “It’s a small town.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
TB puts bacon on a plate and puts it on the table in front of us.
“It means that Shannon probably knows more about you than you do at this point. So, spill it, Shan, what do you know?”
Shannon picks up a piece of bacon and takes a bite. “Well, you aren’t staying at the motel, Mr. Mortimer told Mrs. Monroe, who’s seeing your dad, that you moved out. And Mrs. Monroe told my landlady that your clothes are at your dad’s but that you haven’t spent a night there. And, of course, Sophia has been seen around town without you. So, the natural assumption, knowing your past history from TB…” she smiles at him, “… is that you’re staying with Athena.”
I sit back and look from Shannon to TB. “My dad is seeing someone?”
“Funny. Nice try at avoiding a conversation.” Shannon grabs another piece of bacon.
Leaning over, I too grab a piece and shrug. “Athena and Ashlea are fine.”
Shannon laughs and points at TB. “Told you! You owe me ten dollars.”
“You made a bet?” I ask.
“Yeah.” TB nods, puts down his spatula, and places his hands on his hips. “So, you’re seeing my sister again?” There’s an edge to his voice, a protectiveness.
“It’s more than that. It’s always been more than that.”
TB’s face slowly transforms into a smile. “About fucking time you pulled your head out of your ass.”
“I’m sorry.”
TB nods. “You should be.” Then he picks up his spatula and turns back around.
“Aww, did I just witness a guy moment?” Shannon has her hands together next to her face and tilts her head, the picture of innocence. “You two are so special.”
I shove her. “Shut up.”
“Yeah, Shannon, shut up,” replies TB in a sing-song voice.
The bell for the door go
es off again, and then we hear, “Anyone here?”
“Out back,” yells Shannon.
Todd wanders in, dressed in civvies. “Good morning.”
“Hey, Todd. Breakfast?” asks TB.
“Nah, I’ve eaten. You all ready for today?”
“I wish the day would hurry up. All this preparation is killing me,” replies TB.
“Really?” I ask.
“Yes. I love Ash, and I want her to have her perfect day but me? I’d be happy if the day were over, and we were off on our honeymoon.” He waggles his eyebrows up and down. “Are you still right to drive the girls?”
“Yep. Where is the honeymoon?” asks Todd.
TB smiles and gestures to me with his thumb with a flick of his hand. “My best friend here paid for us to go to Hawaii. He has a house there.”
“Oh, fancy,” chimes in Shannon.
Feeling my face burn, I shake my head. “It was part of a negotiation for a movie. It’s not that big a deal.”
“Okay, well, see you at the chapel.”
“You’re picking Ashlea’s dad, Devon, up from Mom and Dad’s house, too, yeah?”
Todd smiles. “Yep, I’m picking him up an hour before the girls. Just in case there’s some sort of issue, and he can help solve it. I promise to have everyone to the chapel on time.”
TB looks relieved. “Thanks, Todd, you’re the best.”
“Sometimes, all a girl needs to calm her is her dad.” Todd looks at me. “How’s Sophia getting to the wedding?”
“Aww, shit,” I mutter.
Todd laughs. “You forgot about your girlfriend?”
“My ex-girlfriend, and I wouldn’t say I forgot, I simply—”
“Oh, you are in trouble with a capital T,” teases Shannon.
I stand. “Shit. Gotta go, TB, but I’ll be back.”
TB laughs. “I understand, Mr. Hollywood.”
“Don’t be a dick.” I pat Todd on the shoulder. “Catch you all later. I’m off to appease the Ice Queen.”
“Ice Queen?” asks TB innocently.
I stop and point at TB. “Don’t tell me you don’t call her that behind her back, I know you.”
Turning back around, I walk out of the café and head for the motel. Like everything in this town, it’s not far to walk. The sun is shining, and honestly, they couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for their wedding.
Powerful: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World) Page 11
