“Starving,” my wife said.
All the girls hopped up on one of the beds while the rest of us hung around the other box of donuts. We ate silently as the girls chattered about the show Layla made me watch. The one about the girl in Hell’s Kitchen.
I ate quietly, thinking about how our life could be when we got home. Mornings waking up with Layla and not having to be afraid we’d get in trouble for it. The beauty of being married was that you were totally allowed to do stuff with your wife, and no one was allowed to get mad at you for it. I hoped it would save me from dying by the hand of Layla’s parents for whisking her off for a quick Vegas wedding.
To make conversation, I said, “You guys all share a bed last night?”
Wilson smiled. “As fun as a dogpile would have been, we had the couples sleep on a bed each. Adalyn took the couch.”
Hmm. I hoped Layla didn’t hear that one. I knew how she felt about Adalyn not being in a relationship. Admittedly, I didn’t know her very well. We worked together, but we didn’t have a lot of conversations. I certainly didn’t know about her opinions on a love life. I doubted she was interested in anything that wasn’t her sisters.
“We should get lobster for lunch,” Wilson said as he finished another donut.
Riley laughed at him. “I love you very much, and I don’t want you to die from bad shellfish.”
Wilson sighed and put his hands on his sides. “If I’m gonna go out, I’m gonna go out happy, Cookie.”
Good goals.
We discussed the plans to get home, and Frank set up the flight for later tonight. We’d all be in our own beds tonight, which included Layla and me, since I had to assume we were now sharing a bedroom. It would be really odd if we didn’t.
After I sat at the table, Layla skipped over to sit on my lap. She looked so happy when I put my hand on her thigh. She started twisting my ring around on my finger, grinning the whole time. I got a kiss on the cheek, and Layla spoke in my ear, telling me she loved me.
It was so new, but it felt so old at the same time. Like it had always been so. This little part of me was complete now, and I felt comfortable being alive.
I gave my wife a kiss, and she put her arms around my neck. “Are you ready to go home?” she asked me when it was over. Her expression a little worried.
Home meant that I had to deal with my parents and the police. I had to tell them that my mother had been abusing me for years, and there was a chance that my wife was about to get arrested for assaulting her right back. That was not something I wanted to get home to.
It was seeing my mother hurt her that snapped me out of this. I thought it was me that she didn’t like and that she was willing to take her anger out on. But then she hurt the girl I loved, and it was as if the lights got turned on for the first time. I saw that my mother wasn’t in her right mind, and she would hurt anyone who was there. I didn’t live with her anymore, so she would find another target. And I knew that she would do it. No one deserved to get the treatment that I got. Not even me. Layla made that clear for me to see.
Admittedly, that wasn’t the only reason I didn’t want to go home. I was half-convinced Layla’s father would murder me for what I did. To be fair, Layla was the one to pop the question. I was still in shock a little, since so much had happened in the last few days. She asked me to marry her and everything kind of short-circuited. I honestly didn’t think that anyone would ever want to marry me, and I didn’t have time to think about it before Layla asked me. I wanted a life with her, but getting married didn’t pop into my head. But we both had rings on our fingers that made it clear we were bound together forever… and I loved it. I loved looking at the little silver ring she wore and knowing that it matched mine. It was gonna be her and me against the world.
“As long as I’m with you,” I told her, taking her hand. “Just don’t leave my side.”
She smiled at me and kissed my cheek. “Never.”
Her parents were very nice to me when we stepped foot in the door in the wee hours of the morning. We caught the late flight, but we got to sleep a little on the plane, keeping us from being total zombies. Our friends were all home, and Melissa shuffled past her parents, eyes half-open as she mumbled out something that might have been a greeting.
Once she was upstairs, her father turned to us with his arms crossed. “So, you married my kid,” he said to me.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, covering my ring. I nodded once. “I did, sir.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So, you took vows that you would love her and take care of her for the rest of your life, no matter what happens to either of you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you intend on not breaking them?”
I nodded again. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure I’m good enough for Layla. She’s absolutely everything, and I plan on making sure she’s happy for the rest of our lives.”
He reached out and placed a huge hand on my shoulder, but I resisted the urge to flinch. “Good.” He cracked a smile. “I reserve the right to make your life very hard if you break her heart.”
“Dad,” Layla sighed. “Knock it off. Leave my lovely husband alone.” She gave me a peck on the cheek, making her father frown.
I laughed nervously, and her dad glared at me. “Just…” he started. “Just treat each other right.”
Layla put her arm around my middle. “Dad, I promise you that we’re going to treat each other with nothing but love.”
“Good,” Mom said sternly. “Sit on the couch. We need to talk.”
Layla and I followed them over, leaving our bags at the door. We both exchanged a look that let the other know we were aware of what was coming. But at least we weren’t being hanged for our crime here. We did kind of kidnap two minors… and spent thousands of dollars without asking first.
“What were you thinking?” her mom said when we sat across from her and the man that might possibly have hated me. “Not only were we supposed to go talk to Officer Wigmore, but you two took off to get married.”
Layla cleared her throat and scratched at the side of her neck. “Well… Benny wanted a little time before he went and got his mom in trouble. And I kind of suggested we… get married.” She blinked. “Saying it out loud almost makes it sound crazy…”
Her mother huffed. “Really? That’s what makes it sound crazy? You realize that you’re both kids, right? I feel like I would be a bad parent if I didn’t inform you that this was bat-shit crazy.”
Layla made a face. “Yeah… In case you missed it, I am a little crazy. I’m probably going to be insane for the rest of my life. I do impulsive things. But as impulsive as this was, I know it was the right thing to do. We love each other.”
Her dad looked so damn uncomfortable. He patted his lap and sighed. “You love each other today. Have you considered that you might not in a decade? Or even a couple years?”
I thought about that all the time, and I knew Layla did too. She was afraid that I only wanted her because I was sad and lonely. It was true that I was sad and alone, but that had nothing to do with why I wanted her. I wanted her because she was everything I needed. But I was scared for a day where she would see how little I was worth and want to be rid of me. We were both scared that the love would go away but not our own. I was so sure of her, and she was so sure of me. We needed to remember that, and we would be fine.
“We’re going to work out any problems that come,” I said. “We talked about it, and we’re both going to pick up some hours at the shop. We’re going to save up for a place to live.”
“That’s good,” her mom said. “But that’s for you to worry about in the future. You were gone for more than a day. We needed to go talk to the officer as soon as we could. The more time that passes, the better the chance of Bennett’s mother doing something.”
Would my mother really press charges? Layla only pushed her a couple times. My mom was the one to really start throwing punches. She brought out the racket. At
that point, Layla defended us both. How could any court punish Layla for that?
“What do we do now?” Layla asked, completely missing any more humor or lightness.
“We go and tell the officer Bennett’s side of the story,” Mr. Hall said. “I’ll call, and I suggest you kids head upstairs and get ready to go. Also…” He pointed between the two of us. “No more credit cards for you.”
“We can’t do that,” Layla’s mother groaned.
Her father sighed, pouted, rose from the couch, and headed into the loft just past this room while mumbling about how money didn’t grow on trees.
Mrs. Hall stayed and crossed her legs daintily, resting her hands on her knee. Her eyebrows were both far up on her forehead, and she looked a little pissy. “I hope you guys don’t plan on any more stunts like this in the future.”
I shook my head. “Nothing at all. What else could we possibly do?”
She threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know! Join the circus!”
Layla scoffed. “Bennett wouldn’t cut it as a lion tamer.” She rubbed my arm. “No offense, baby.”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “There are lots of jobs in a circus, Layla. There’s the trapeze, elephant trainer, ringleader. I mean, get your head together.”
“I’d be a clown,” I mumbled.
Layla rubbed her hand on my back and kissed my shoulder. “You would make a very good clown, Benny. You would look adorable in those big pants.”
Well, that was comforting.
“Ya know,” her mother sighed as she scratched her forehead and looked back at us. “I’m not upset that you got married, Layla. Your father and I did almost the same thing as you did. We were kids, and we knew each other three and a half months. Every damn person in our life said that we wouldn’t make it two years, and I mostly wanted to prove them wrong to piss them off rather than because I loved your dad.
“Which I do,” she said, holding her hand out. “And I did then. I loved him, and I thought that I would never love anyone else. That was true for me, but that’s not the point here.” She shook her head. “The point is that your father and I lost you for seven damn years, Layla. You can imagine what we thought happened to you. It was hell, and every single memory of you made me cry. Then you came home.”
Her voice wavered on the last word, and one blink had her eyes glassy. “There aren’t words to explain what that felt like. There was no greater miracle than us getting our baby back. That little girl who came into this world screaming her lungs out, making the doctors think she was going to hurt herself because she just wouldn’t stop. We got back all those things we lost. Holding you, telling you we loved you, meeting the kids you have, and seeing you grow up. I know in the long run that this sounds kind of unimportant, but I would have liked to have been at your wedding. Your dad too. He should have gotten to give you away, and you should have been honest with us about what you wanted to do. If you were really that adamant about doing it soon, then we would have helped you. But you didn’t give us the chance.”
Layla looked embarrassed, and she brushed her hair over her head. She bounced her leg and crossed her arms. “Mom, I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry about that I am. I wasn’t thinking about that. I know that doesn’t make it better, but I didn’t exclude you on purpose. Ben and I just wanted to be married.”
Mom nodded. “Obviously. I wasn’t kidding about giving you an actual wedding. I want that for you two, and I want that for your father and I and all the people in our family that thought we lost you forever.”
“That would be nice, Mrs. Hall,” I said.
She smirked at me. “You can go ahead and call me either Mom or Glory. I understand if Mom makes you a little uneasy.”
I… I didn’t think it did. She was upset with us, but she wasn’t hurting me. She told us how she felt… and that was it.
I smiled a little and nodded too. “I don’t mind calling you Mom.”
She smiled back. “Good.”
My wife dragged me upstairs and threw me on the bed for a quick nap while she showered. The only reason it worked was because I was already a zombie and lying down was enough to put me under.
I woke up with Layla presenting me with breakfast and a towel, making promises to lay my clothes out for me when I was done. Then she mussed my hair and kissed my forehead. It felt nice to be taken care of.
I showered and left the door halfway open. I watched Layla as she started killing time by going through her closet and picking things to donate. She wanted to make some more room for me in here. The room was a decent size, and her bed was nice and big. Her parents had gotten her a new one when she got home. As far as I knew, each of the girls’ rooms were left untouched when they were taken. All but Kylie’s, since her parents split up. Layla’s bed when she was young had been small. Now it fit us both.
I walked back to her in a towel, and she looked me up and down with a smirk before she handed me my clothes. I genuinely had no clue why my lanky, pale body turned her on, but I was grateful for it. She slapped my butt on the way to put the towel away. So it fell off on my way back, and then my wife attacked me.
Wife is a fun word to use.
“We should go,” Layla said against my mouth. Considering she was the one who had me shoved against the wall. She was very aggressive sometimes, and it was fucking awesome.
“I don’t want to do this,” I admitted.
All day long, it had been in the back of my mind. Escaping had only worked for a little while, but I knew that from the start. I would have to walk into that police station no matter what, and I would have to put away the woman who gave me life. It was my mom. It felt like such a deep betrayal to do this to her, even with what she had done to me in the past. She was still the woman who bought me typewriters, even if she only did it after a beating. But there were times where she would be nice to me for no reason at all. Or tell me she loved me and wanted me happy. Those days were all gone now. I would never wake up in that house again. Never eat breakfast with her or joke around or watch our shows together. I was giving all that up.
It was the right thing to do.
Layla let me off the wall and took my hands, pulling me to her as she tilted her head up. “I know you don’t, but we have to go. The other option is doing nothing at all and letting her walk free after what she did to you. What if she has another kid, honey? She might hurt him too.”
I really hadn’t thought about that one. My mom and dad were pretty young when they had me; barely out of high school. Mom had a little time to have another kid if she wanted to, and who was to say if she would love them more than me? Maybe that kid would miss out on the hell I was raised in. But maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe that child would get everything I got but worse because Mom was extra bitter now. Would she lock a toddler in that freezer?
Yes, she would.
I nodded and rubbed the light scruff on my jaw. “Yeah. We should go.”
I took her hand again, and we walked out of the bedroom.
ur next several days had been spent getting Benny all set up in our bedroom. He needed a distraction from what he had to do as Officer Wigmore looked into the situation. He said that he would call and update us as soon as he could. I wasn’t really sure what this all would involve, but he was pretty sure I wouldn’t get in trouble. It was my and Bennett’s word against Mrs. Posey’s, and Bennett had more bruises than she did. And he had God knows how many fucking letters that mapped out every detail of his beatings. If the witch didn’t get rid of them. Bennett said she had no clue they existed.
So far, my parents had gotten us a new dresser as a wedding present, and it was split in half. All of Bennett’s new clothes fit in perfectly, and mine went on the other side, making room in the closet for his other stuff.
“I really need my laptop,” he said, sighing, and looking utterly fretful. “All of my stories are on it, and I’m terrified she’ll destroy it.”
I sat up on my knees on our bed so that I could wrap my arms
around him as he stood. “I promise you we will get it. If Wigmore hasn’t called by tonight, then we can stop by your house when your mom is at work tomorrow. You should have all of your stuff. More than the laptop.”
He nodded and ran his hands down my arms. They stopped at my shoulders. “I feel like I’m not thanking you enough for being so supportive.”
I smiled at him. “I don’t think that saying you should get your stuff is worth a thank you.”
He shrugged, and his fingers curled around my shoulders. “It’s not just that. It’s everything. You’re not forcing me into anything, and I’ve never had that before. I feel like we’re actual partners in life.”
My smile turned into a grin, and I sat up straighter. I slid my arms around his neck so I could hold him close. Whipping my hair over my shoulder, I said, “Baby, I will support you in anything you do or don’t want to do in life. Even if you wanna be a clown in the circus.”
Bennett gasped. “Maybe I want to be the ringmaster.”
“Clown.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
He laughed and surprised me, gripping me around the waist and tossing me into the air to catch me. “Ringmaster forever!”
Bennett tossed me onto the bed, making me bounce once before he landed on me. He took his revenge swiftly by tickling my sides and ignoring me when I laughed my way through threats to tickle him back. When I tried, he grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head. His other hand rested on my side.
With raised eyebrows, he stared me down. “Say it,” he ordered me.
“No,” I said with all the defiance I had in me.
“Say it,” he repeated.
“Never!”
His fingers pressed into me, and I was sent into a laughing fit as he found all of my tickle spots that I really regretted letting him know about. Oh, I make so many mistakes.
“Fine!” I shouted while he tickled my hipbone. “You can be a ringmaster!”
With a triumphant laugh, he rolled off of me and threw his hands into the air. “Damn right I can!”
The Dreamhouse Page 30
