Chapter 17 #2
He spat the words with so much force she winced. Tears rushed to her eyes. She didn’t know what had happened. Ghost might never tell her. But the pain he carried said it all.
Evie had suffered.
“He sexually assaulted her.” His words dropped with the force of a missile.
Mila’s brain struggled to process the statement. Her tongue grew thick and heavy, unable to form a single syllable.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know how long it went on. Months. Years. Worst part is I had a feeling. The way he touched her, the way she always hid when he was around. Signs that are more obvious to me now than when I was younger.”
“Oh my gosh.” She hugged him close. “That poor little girl.”
Ghost’s hand balled into a fist on his chest. “I exploded when I found out. Caught him sneaking out of her room one night.” Pain ravaged his words. “I blacked out. My mom called the cops on me. On me. ”
Silence fell. Part of her wished she hadn’t asked; the other part needed closure. Needed to hear that Evie had made it out safely.
“What happened after she called the cops on you? Did they arrest Richie?”
He scoffed, the sound thick with disdain. “Fuckers didn’t believe me. Said they couldn’t prove it. My mom said I was lying. Evie was too scared to talk to them.”
Tears burned Mila’s eyes. “That must have been so hard.”
“Before Richie, my mom and I were close. Once she started seeing him it was like... he was all that mattered. She thought he walked on water. He’d yell at me for everything and she’d scold me for pissing him off.”
Mila smoothed her hand up and down his arm. “That’s terrible. She should’ve stood up for her son.”
“I told my mom I was going to kill him. She told me if I didn’t stop lying about Evie, she’d have me put in jail.” His voice grew hollow. Detached. “I took Evie one night. We ran. I just remember carrying her through the woods, promising she’d never go back there.”
Her heart wrenched. “How old were you?”
“Seventeen. She was seven.”
The tears misting her eyes fell. She dashed them away. The last thing she wanted was for him to stop talking. Inside she was screaming for the little girl. She was grateful Ghost had been there—had tried so hard to protect her.
“Richie found us. He went wild, shooting at us.” The distance in his voice remained.
It seemed as if he had to disassociate to continue talking.
“I don’t even know how long I carried her.
An hour probably. I was terrified that if I put her down, I’d never see her again.
But carrying her didn’t protect her. That bullet should’ve hit me instead. ”
A sob escaped Mila’s throat.
“I never got to say goodbye. I just remember her crying, clinging to me. It was so damn cold. I fell and—” His voice broke. “He shot her. I’m sure the bullet was intended for me, but when I went down it hit her right in the chest. By the time I realized, she was... gone.”
Mila’s heart split in two. She covered her face, trying desperately to stifle her cries.
Ghost’s hand landed on her cheek. “Shh.” His thumb smoothed over her temple. The fact he was comforting her when he’d just bared his soul wasn’t lost on her.
“I made Richie pay. I don’t even remember killing him. I blacked out. It was ruled self-defense.”
“I’m so sorry. Your mom should’ve protected her—both of you.”
He scoffed. “She was blinded by Richie. I knew he was a creep. I told her so many times that I didn’t like the way he looked at Evie.” He shook his head. “She refused to see it.”
“What happened to your mom?”
His hand stilled, and his thumping heart beneath her ear beat faster.
She tipped up her chin to study his shadowed face.
“She killed herself.”
The breath left Mila’s lungs. After everything he’d gone through, he then had to deal with the death of his mother. Even if he’d hated her, had been disgusted by her, she’d still been his mom—his whole world at one point. “That must have been difficult.”
His lips firmed. “She wasn’t the same mother I’d once had. She’d turned into someone I didn’t recognize. Before Richie, I was glad my mom had adopted Evie. Happy I could be a big brother. Little did I know that was the worst fate she could’ve endured.”
“She loved you. And you did your best to save her.”
“I didn’t do shit. If I’d been smart, I would’ve taken her out of there the minute I sensed Richie’s intentions. I should’ve snapped Richie’s neck and got out with her before he laid a finger on her. Found her a family, I dunno, fuck.”
“You did more than anyone else would’ve in that situation.”
“It wasn’t enough.” Sadness pulled down his words.
She rose onto her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. He didn’t hug her back, but his face dipped to her chest. “You’re a good man, Ghost. You did everything you could for that little girl.”
He looped one arm around her and pulled her onto his chest. He stroked her hair. After several minutes, some of the tension seemed to slip from his body.
“I’ve never told anyone that before,” he said. “Not a fucking soul.”
The tears lingering at her eyes spilled out.
He kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”
Minutes slipped by, but she couldn’t drift off. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured Ghost as a teenager, full of rage. Pictured the little girl just wanting a loving family.
And her heart broke for them both.