United

by A. Aubry

  Bringing Leo onto my lap on the floor, I helped him open his presents. He was almost a year old, but the boy had a big personality. Every time I opened a present for him I would say how cool it was and he would squeal in excitement and clap his hands. The last present we opened was a plush soccer ball from Cooper and Amelia. I had never seen Leo’s eyes get as big as when they saw the ball.

  “Look at this, Leo! Your own soccer ball, now you can be like daddy!” I kissed his round cheek as he hugged the pillow type ball to his chest.

  “I can barely keep up with him as it is, Finn. Let’s not encourage him to run faster just yet,” Julianna teased as she snapped a picture of us.

  I pointed to Cooper, “Blame Coop. It’s his present.”

  Julianna playfully hit Cooper on the arm, “Thanks a lot, ‘bro’.”

  When all the presents were opened, Cooper, Ashton, and I brought the kids upstairs for bedtime. I even had to bribe Sofie with my special Uncle Finn tuck ins just so that she would go to bed too. She had more than enough Christmas cookies and she would be crashing hard pretty soon. Cooper and Ashton went into the spare bedroom that they set up the pack and plays in while I took Leo into his nursery.

  “Merry Christmas, Leo. I hope you had a great day,” I smiled as I kissed his forehead and put him down in his crib.

  “Da-da,” he looked up at me and held his hands out.

  It was like music to my ears when he said that, “That’s right, da-da. Now go to sleep so tomorrow we can play with your ball.”

  I rubbed his back until his eyes drooped low and took my leave. A few minutes later I was in the guest bedroom where Sofie was lying in bed. I tucked her in and gave her a big hug and kiss. Cooper and Ashton were waiting for me in the hallway and we made our way downstairs. Violet, mom, and Amelia were sitting in the living room chatting but Julianna and my father were nowhere to be seen.

  “Where’s Jules?” I asked as I sat on the arm of the couch next to my mom.

  “Just getting some adult beverages together for us,” my mother winked.

  I shook my head, “And dad?”

  “I think he went to go help her? Or get a drink…either one of those things,” Violet answered as Ashton whispered something in her ear and she giggled.

  The sound of glass breaking in the kitchen caught my attention. Julianna tended to be a little clumsy and I didn’t exactly want my pregnant wife down on the floor cleaning up glass.

  “I should go see if she needs help cleaning up. Sometimes I really question why we have glass in the house,” I laughed as I got up and went into the kitchen.

  “Baby, are you o—what the fuck?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I couldn’t believe my eyes. My father had Julianna up against the refrigerator, and she was trying hard to push him away.

  I ran over and pulled him off of her as fast as I could. He tried to protest something but Julianna was what caught my attention as her hand went up to her throat. I could hear her taking large breaths of air. When her hand moved slightly, I could see the redness that I’d only seen on her skin like that once before, when Michael attacked her.

  “Were you fucking choking my wife?” I yelled as I turned back to my father.

  There wasn’t even a chance for him to answer as I balled my hand into a fist and punched him square in the nose. He fell instantly, and Cooper and Ashton charged into the room.

  “What’s going on?” Cooper asked before he saw our father lying on the ground, blood trickling from his once perfect nose.

  I ignored his question as I went to Julianna, moving her hand out of the way so that I could see the damage that was done. My fingers lightly brushed over the red marks and Julianna opened her mouth to talk. All that came out were wheezes and a small squeak as she tried to talk, and my world shattered. Even Michael hadn’t choked her that hard that she lost her voice. Then again, she was unconscious for three days so I wasn’t exactly an expert on that.

  “Oh baby,” I gasped as I brought her close to me and held her tight.

  What was I going to do if she couldn’t ever speak again? I loved the sound of her voice, it was one of those soothing sounds and I knew for sure it soothed Leo when he was upset.

  “I’m calling the police,” Cooper announced from beside our father.

  “Finn, is she okay?” I felt Ashton’s hand on my shoulder.

  I couldn’t keep the emotion out of my voice as I looked over at him, “She was trying to talk to me, but it’s like she can’t, Ash. What the fuck do I do? Why the fuck would he do that?”

  “Ashton, watch this pathetic excuse of a father. I’ll check out Jules,” Cooper said authoritatively.

  He was more of a father than our father ever was. We knew better than not to listen to him when he used that voice. Ashton followed his orders, and Cooper came back to where Julianna and I stood. He had to give me his death stare in order for me to let go of her.

  I took a step back and nervously chewed on my lip as I watched him bend over from his 6’4” height down to her 5’3” so that he could get a good look at her. Julianna pushed past him and caught my gaze as she patted her hand on the island. Really? She was going to worry about others now?

  “She’s worried that you’re uncomfortable from hunching down to her height. She wants me to help her sit up on the island, so she’s taller for you,” I sighed exasperatedly while Julianna touched her nose.

  I shook my head and walked over to where Julianna stood, hoisting her up easily onto the island.

  “How the fuck did you know that?” Cooper said in disbelief.

  My eyes narrowed at her to silently scold her, “Because my wife always thinks about others before she thinks about herself.”

  She gave me her innocent smile and signed that she loved me. Instantly, I had to forgive her for putting others before herself.

  “I love you more,” I whispered and gave her a quick kiss.

  Letting Cooper back in front of her, I watched him check her neck up until sirens sounded in front of our house. I walked to the front door and let the police and EMTs in.

  “They’re in the kitchen, fellas. My father is lying on the floor after I punched him for hurting my wife.”

  I led them back into the kitchen and the EMTs broke off into two groups, one going to Julianna and Cooper, while the other kneeled down to check out my father. The fucker could die for all I cared right now. He not only hurt my wife, but he hurt my pregnant wife. Who the fuck did that?

  Just as I was plotting how much hell I was going to rain down on this man’s life, I heard someone smacking the countertop. It took me a second to remember that Julianna was up on the island and I shifted my gaze from the man on the floor to my wife who was hitting the space beside her.

  I stepped around everyone in the room and went to her side, “Are you in pain, Julianna?”

  She shook her head and pointed at me and then at the police officer who I had just been talking to momentarily. Apparently, she wanted the cop to come over so she could try to say what happened. I nodded my understanding and brought the cop over to her.

  “Julianna wants to give her statement,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “I thought she couldn’t talk?” One of the paramedics said.

  Julianna looked at me and tapped her nose like she did when we played charades. Oh god, please no.

  “She wants to do it through charades,” I let out a big breath, “Really, Jules? Can’t we just wait?”

  She shook her head at me, a little slower than usual, which worried me. How much damage did he actually do to her?

  “And who’s going to decode what she’s saying?” The officer behind me questioned.

  “Finn should probably do it, he’s the best at reading her thoughts. Freaked me out earlier,” Cooper told everyone.

  It was freaky that I could read my wife’s thoughts? I thought everyone could do that after spending time with one another for so long…

  Julianna didn’t wai
t for anybody else to say anything as she jumped off the counter and shoved everyone out of her work space. The other police officer had finally gotten my father to stand up, thanks to Ashton and the other paramedic’s help, so there was more space for us to stand.

  “How do we know that he is interpreting it right?” Someone asked from beside me.

  I watched Julianna as she walked around her little space but stopped when her foot hit something. She attempted to move some glass pieces with her shoe and she adorably stomped her foot when she got frustrated. When she looked at me, she pointed down at the glass and I knew she wanted it out of the way. It would mess up the ‘crime scene reenactment’, damn I watched why too many crime shows with her. I went to the utility closet and grabbed the broom for her. Her lips gently pressed against mine before she cleared her walking path.

  “Like that,” Cooper explained.

  Seriously? Did nobody have this connection with their significant others? Taking a moment to really appreciate the sight of watching my father get hauled off in handcuffs, Ashton coming up next to me brought me back to the task at hand. Helping my wife explain her story. Julianna went to the cupboard where we kept the wine glasses and brought out two before waving me over.

  “Julianna was setting up the drinks for all of us adults to have since the kids were all put to bed. She was getting the glasses out of the cabinet when my father walked in.”

  Julianna held out a glass to me as though she was offering it to me before shaking her head no.

  Okay, so he didn’t want a drink…he used that rouse to keep the suspicions down with the females in the family.

  She waved me closer but when I got close she held up her hand and stepped away from me, brushing off the countertop with a towel.

  “She offered him something to drink but he told her no. He stood close to her and she got uncomfortable, so she moved away.”

  She signaled between the two of us and grabbed my hand. Her other hand came up and ran the back of her fingers over my cheek, like how she woke me up on our very first date.

  Date…dating…he asked her how long we were together for? Was that really necessary?

  “He asked her how long we’ve been together, and she told him.”

  Julianna released me and brought her rings off her fingers. She never took them off except for the time we momentarily separated, but I knew she was doing it for a different reason this time. She held up the engagement ring that I gave her. My eyes widened.

  She had fucking said how long we were together, why did it matter how long we were dating before I proposed to her?

  “He asked her how long we were together before we got engaged.”

  Her head shook side to side, telling me that she didn’t answer as she slid her rings back on. She always hated talking about how short of time we dated before we got engaged. It was something she thought people would look down on her for. Her hand made a heart and she pointed at me. Nobody really believed at first that we got engaged and married so quickly because we were in love, but I knew it and so did she and that was all that mattered.

  I smiled at her symbol of loving me, “She didn’t tell him how long. Knowing her she probably said it was inappropriate, she does get uneasy when she talks about our very short dating and engagement portion of our relationship. Makes her feel like people are judging her. But she told him that we are in love.”

  She nodded at me and gave me a smile. Normally when we played charades with Bo and Angie, Julianna was terrible at giving signs, but she was doing pretty well. Then again, the fact that I knew her enough to decrypt what she was saying was usually the reason why we won.

  Julianna pointed her finger at me and moved her hand as though she was symbolizing money.

  He asked her about the loan, that stupid motherfucker.

  I hadn’t talked to my wife about that because it was fucking Christmas. She shook her head to tell me that she turned him down.

  I pursed my lips for a second, wondering how upset she would be with me for not telling her sooner, “He told her that he knew she was in charge of the finances of the house and he told her that he asked me for a loan, which he did at dinner a few nights ago. I’d told him I had to talk to my wife. She told him no, that we couldn’t give him a loan.”

  Cooper and Ashton gasped quietly behind me, they too didn’t know about our father’s request. Julianna put her hand on her belly and rubbed it slowly.

  She gave him the excuse that our money was for our children, which in the end it really was.

  “Because of our children.”

  Julianna instructed me to get closer to her as she pressed her back up against the refrigerator, we were toe to toe and I could see the fear that still lingered in her eyes. I gazed back at her, telling her that everything would be alright, that I wasn’t like my father, that she was safe. She brought her hand up again, pointing to her rings and showing me the money sign again.

  He fucking accused her of being a gold digger?

  “He backed her up against the refrigerator, told her that she married me for my money.”

  I watched her mouth as she silently said, ‘take your money’.

  That was all he thought of me, a fucking gravy train?

  “He told her that he wanted my money.”

  Her hand took mine and she brought it up, forming it into a fist and put it beside her head against the refrigerator. I could see the small dent that was already in the door where she placed my hand. Julianna acted as though she was jumping at the sensation of hearing the hand against the metal.

  He tried to intimidate her.

  “He punched the refrigerator next to her to scare her into admitting that she married me for my money. He was angry because he wanted it.”

  She vigorously shook her head back and forth and made the money sign. Julianna would never lie to make someone feel better. The money sign indicated that she kept telling him that we couldn’t give him any money.

  “She refused to lie to him and say that she did, telling him again that we couldn’t give him a loan because of the kids.”

  Julianna grabbed my hand and opened it from its fist. When she put it on her neck, I couldn’t help the tear that decided to escape. She chose the wrong person to have reenact this part, I could barely bring myself to keep my hand there.

  “That’s when he started choking her.”

  Her mouth opened and shut as though she was trying to call out for help.

  I was in the next fucking room and I was too stupid to come check on her.

  “She tried to call for help,” I said as best I could through the tears that rolled down my cheeks and the emotions that closed my throat.

  Her hand covered mine at her throat and she looked at me with the fear that she had been feeling in that moment. I could tell that whatever was going to happen next, it wasn’t going to be between me and Julianna, it was going to be between her and my father. Her other hand disappeared around the back of my head as she forced me into a kiss.

  My father, the very man who abandoned me and my family when I was just a baby, fucking kissed my wife. He had called her beautiful before, but I didn’t think anything of it than of it being an out of place comment. Then I took in the fact that my hand was still on her throat. The fucker only kissed her because he knew that was the only way to keep her quiet. Her mouth was in a hard-straight line as she signaled to me that she was trying to keep him from getting his tongue into her mouth. She wouldn’t have been able to breathe even more then. What the fuck?

  Julianna pulled at my shoulder and I couldn’t hold back the cries that came out, “He kissed her, so she couldn’t call for help, so she couldn’t breathe because she kept her mouth shut as he tried to force himself in. That was when she pulled the towel with the glasses off the counter, making them fall onto the ground to get my attention. I came in here and ripped him off of her.”

  Her hand went back up to her neck like right after I tore him off of her. I could see she was holding back
tears.

  “She gasped for air and I knew he had been choking her. I punched him, and he went out, then I ran to make sure she was okay. Cooper and Ashton came in next, that’s when the police were called.”

  Everyone was quiet as I stood there crying. This was far worse than I thought. This was all my fault for allowing him to come here today. I let him back into our lives, this was my fault. Julianna stepped up to me and tugged me down as her arms hooked around my neck. My face instinctively went into her neck as sobs racked my body. Julianna rubbed my back and pressed her lips to my ear.

  “I love you, Finn…I love you,” she whispered, her voice so soft I could barely make it out.

  “I’m so sorry, I should’ve been there,” I cried as I held onto her tight.

  Julianna quietly shushed me and continued to rub my back. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I knew it wasn’t Julianna’s.

  “Come on, Finn. Let’s let the cops do their job so they can leave,” Cooper said softly as he pulled me away.

  We walked over to where the rest of our family stood and my mom took me into her arms as I cried. I was waiting for the ‘I told you so’ from her, but even she knew it was the wrong time. How could this all get so out of hand? Everyone around me went to work as I heard the police officers leave, but I couldn’t seem to let go of my mom. Here I was, twenty-six years old, and I was crying into my mother’s shoulder like a baby.

  “Your wife needs you now,” my mother whispered to me as she released me and turned me back to Julianna who stood back at the kitchen island.

  She tapped the countertop like she did before and I easily brought her up to sit on top of it. Julianna lifted my chin to look at her and I nodded, knowing she wanted me to focus on her. When her hand came up to her chest, I knew exactly what she was saying and it pissed me the fuck off.

  “It is not your fault!” I said a little too loudly that everyone’s attention turned back to us.

  She narrowed her eyes at me and I knew she didn’t like that I yelled at her.