Chapter 20 #2
“We need to go.” Owen’s calm tone belied the uproar going on inside him. “My mom is here.”
“Did you know she was coming?”
He shook his head, not trusting himself to say anything more.
Crossing the room, he put his guitar in the case and closed the latches with fumbling fingers.
He was aware of Laura saying good-bye to the others, but he focused on breathing through the rage.
He could only imagine what must’ve happened this time.
Had she finally left him? Owen refused to entertain a hope that had been dashed so often in the past.
“Yo, O, are you okay?” Evan asked quietly. He crouched next to Owen and rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Did you hear what Slim said?”
“Yeah.” Evan was the only person on the island who knew the truth about Owen’s upbringing with the rigid air force general who’d beaten the crap out of his wife and children every chance he’d gotten. “What can I do for you?”
Owen didn’t know what he wanted. He was tempted to run and hide the way he’d done as a young child when his father’s rages would overtake him.
Owen had run away and hidden until he was old enough to get between his father and the victim of choice.
Running and hiding wasn’t an option with his mother possibly hurt and waiting for him in town.
Evan seemed to sense Owen’s indecision. “I’ll give you and Laura a ride home, and we’ll see what’s up, okay?”
“Thanks, Ev.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Evan smoothed the way with the others for a quick escape.
Owen settled Laura in the front seat of her car, stashed his guitar in the trunk and took the back seat, thankful for Evan’s offer to drive.
Owen had no idea what to expect when they got to the hotel, and the sick feeling in his stomach brought back memories he’d run from his entire adult life.
Images ran through his mind like a horror movie, snippets from the past he’d tried so hard to forget.
Sometimes he suspected the reason he’d kept moving from one place to another was because he was afraid of what would happen if he ever stood still for too long.
Laura turned in her seat and extended a hand to him.
He closed his cold hand around her much warmer one and held on. “There are things I should tell you . . . Things you should know . . .” He wondered if she’d be angry that he hadn’t told her before now.
Evan glanced at the rearview mirror and met Owen’s gaze.
“The most important thing right now is whatever your mom needs,” Laura said. “Don’t worry about me, okay?”
He gave a small nod, loving her for understanding.
“Whatever it is, I’ll be right there with you,” she added.
“Me, too,” Evan said.
Owen’s throat tightened. How could he tell his two closest friends that he didn’t want them there? He didn’t want them to see what his father had done to his mother. He didn’t want them to know. But he could hardly send them away when neither of them would think of leaving him.
They weren’t like the transient people he’d encountered growing up in the military who were quick to turn the other way at any sign of trouble, especially in the family of a high-ranking officer. These people truly cared about him, and they wouldn’t let him go through this alone.
He wanted to thank Evan and Laura for their support, but he couldn’t seem to form the words. They’d left the porch light on, which was how Owen saw her sitting on the front stairs, leaning against the rail. “Stop.”
When the car slowed, Owen jumped out and jogged the last two blocks to the hotel. “Mom?” Her chin-length blond hair hid her face, so he couldn’t tell if she was asleep or unconscious.
Mindful of her injuries, he rested a hand carefully on her shoulder. “Mom.”
Her puffy blue eyes opened and immediately filled with tears when she saw him.
“What’re you doing out here?”
“The hide-a-key was missing.”
Crap, Owen thought, remembering that they’d taken it with them. “What happened?”
She released a sigh full of weary defeat. “You know.”
“Do you need a doctor?” He was aware of Evan and Laura standing behind him, waiting to hear what they could do to help.
“I don’t know.”
“Can you stand up?”
“I think so.” But when she tried, her cries tore at Owen’s guts.
“Evan, go get David Lawrence. Hurry.”
Laura materialized on the other size of his mother, and between the two of them, they managed to get her inside.
“How did you travel all the way from Virginia in this condition?” Owen asked through gritted teeth.
“I wanted to be here, at the hotel. I wanted to see you.” She broke down into sobs that shattered his heart.
He would kill that son of a bitch for doing this to her.
He should’ve killed him years ago and spared them all the nightmare he’d inflicted upon them.
Choking back the rage, because it wasn’t what his mother needed and it certainly didn’t change anything, he tried to stay focused on getting her settled on his bed.
Laura found a throw blanket and helped him cover her.
“Laura, this is my mom, Sarah. Mom, this is Laura McCarthy. She’s my . . .” Owen didn’t know what word would be appropriate. He looked to Laura for guidance.
“I’m his girlfriend,” Laura said with a loving smile.
Sarah looked up at him, the pain making her eyes heavy. “You never said . . .”
“I hadn’t gotten around to telling you, but I was going to. Soon. Laura is the manager Gran hired to get the hotel open again.”
“Oh, Mother mentioned you.”
“I’m a big fan of your mother’s,” Laura said, speaking as if they were meeting at a cocktail party rather than in the aftermath of violence.
In that moment, he appreciated Laura more than he ever had before.
“I’m looking forward to meeting her in person.
” She tucked the blanket around his mother’s feet.
“Is there anything I can get for you, Mrs. Lawry? Some water or tea maybe?”
“No, thank you, honey. I’d like to close my eyes for a minute. I’m so tired.”
“You rest, Mom,” Owen said, bending to kiss her forehead. “The doctor will be here soon to fix you up.”
Sarah released a deep breath and was asleep within seconds.
Laura took Owen’s hand and led him into the sitting room. Turning, she put her arms around him and held on tight.
Woodenly, Owen returned the embrace, even as his mind raced with questions and worries and rage.
Always lurking right below the surface was the rage he’d fought so hard against. It would’ve been so easy to become like his father choosing the alternate path had been a lifelong struggle.
In the past, he would’ve run off. He wouldn’t have allowed anyone to touch or comfort him.
Allowing Laura into his nightmare seemed as natural as breathing, even though he was ashamed.
He’d lived with the shame almost as long as he’d lived with the fear and pain.
“What can I do for you?” she asked after a long moment.
“Just this,” he said, tightening his hold on her. “I can’t figure out how she managed to get here from Virginia when she can barely move.”
“She was fueled by determination.”
He held on to Laura until they heard the main door swing open.
Evan rushed into the sitting room with David Lawrence following him.
“Thank you so much for coming, David.”
The island’s only doctor shook Owen’s hand. “No problem. Evan said you suspect domestic abuse?”
Gritting his teeth, Owen nodded.
“You understand I’m a mandatory reporter,” David said, “meaning if I suspect a crime has been committed, I’m required to report it to the proper authorities.”
Laura’s hand on Owen’s back propped him up in more ways than one.