42. Chapter 42
Chapter forty-two
E liza stood at the familiar door's threshold with a held breath. She didn't want to cry anymore today, but she also understood that was a promise to herself she wasn't likely to keep. It took just a moment for Reba to peer through the side window and open the door.
"Aunt Reba, may I come in?" her voice was heavy as she choked back more tears.
Nodding, Reba moved to the side and opened the door wider. Once inside, the two women stared at each other for a long moment. Eliza noticed her aunt looked a lot more aged than she had even a day ago. Her skin, always tanned and rosy from being in the pool or playing tennis, looked grey. And the small wrinkles around her eyes that come from years of laughter were deeper and pronounced.
"Eliza, sweetheart," Reba choked. "Thank you for helping Chet. You don't know what it means to the both of us."
A pang of guilt hit her heart, but Eliza managed, "Of course. It's the least I can do."
Reba nodded again, "Well, what brings you by?"
"Nevaeh. I'd like to talk to her, if that's alright."
Her aunt considered her for a moment, but agreed, "I think she would like that."
The pair walked through the foyer into the living room and past the kitchen. It was a path Eliza could draw in her sleep. She had so much she wanted to say and yet, the silence between them strangled her.
“I found my mom’s journals,” Eliza blurted.
Reba pulled in a deep sigh, before a wistful smile appeared, “Your mom was always writing in her books. She never wanted to forget anything…the good, the bad. It was important to her. I always thought she would have made a damn fine lawyer too.”
“She wrote about him…the day she died.”
Her aunt stopped in her tracks. The memory of Catherine’s passing fell over her like a shadow and Eliza watched it darken the woman’s eyes, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
Movement through the dining room door drew the pair’s attention, as Dave came into frame in the doorway.
"Hey," he called out. Eliza's heart beat fiercely because their last meeting had been an all out attack, but in the same instant, she knew it was for good reason. He was only protecting his baby sister.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you," he apologized, holding out his hand. When she took it, he pulled Eliza into a tight hug. "And thank you for helping my Dad."
Eliza melted into that embrace. Dave and the rest of the Branson offspring were the siblings she never had and it was killing her that her father caused them any pain.
Pulling back, her eyes met his, "I will make this right. Uncle Chet isn't going to spend any time in jail if I have anything to do with it."
"We appreciate that."
Reba gave her son a tight smile, "She wants to talk to your sister."
His head nodded in agreement and the women set off up the stairs. They reached a dark oak door; a sign in glitter spelling out Neveah's name hung on a tiny hook at eye level. Eliza's stomach lurched as her eyes focused on the handmade keepsake.
"Veah?" Reba knocked lightly on the door. "You have a visitor."
"Come in."
Her aunt placed a hand on Eliza's arm and did her best to look at peace, but she knew it was a lie. How could anyone possibly be able to comfort another in a time like this?
Eliza opened the door to find Neveah sitting criss-cross on her bed with a book. Her room was still tidy, like always, and it smelled faintly sweet like caramelized sugar. She recognized it immediately as her de facto sister's perfume.
"Hey, Nevaeh…is it alright if I come in to talk?" Eliza's tone was soft as if she might scare the young woman and that was the last thing she wanted.
She nodded, "Yeah…I'd like that."
Eliza took a look around the room for a place to sit. Grabbing the plush pink office chair from the desk, she placed it close enough to Neveah that she could hold her hand, if she needed.
"Look, Veah—" she tried to ease into a conversation but was cut short.
"You want to know what Uncle Paul did, don't you?" Neveah's sharp green eyes narrowed.
Eliza drew a staggered breath, "Yeah, I do. But, if you don't feel like talking about it, that's okay."
The girl turned her face away, staring into the far wall as a heavy silence fell on them both. Eliza knew if sitting in the quiet was what her little sister needed right now, then that was what they would do, for as long as it took. She had more than enough time to just be still with her. Reaching out, she took Neveah's small hand and the two laced their fingers. They sat together, in the calm, for long minutes that stretched into a quarter hour then a half hour.
"I didn't realize what was happening until later," Nevaeh's soft voice broke their meditation. "I'd went by the office a few times, after hours, you know? Just to study or to pick up something for Dad." Turning her face to Eliza, she shrugged, "The internet is so much better at the office than the library at school."
Eliza nodded.
"He told me how pretty I had gotten…how fast I grew up. How much I reminded him of Catherine," her chin dipped to her chest. "Toby and I just broke up…so, it was nice to hear things like that from someone…even if it was just Uncle Paul."
Eliza squeezed her hand. But, while Nevaeh may have taken it as a sign of support for her, Eliza's stomach was churning at the mention of her mother's name and she was only beginning to realize how sick her father really was.
"I went in one night, right before school was out. I needed to get a term paper done for AP Bio, he was there. He told me I could sit in his office so I wouldn't be alone," Nevaeh's eyes filled with tears. "I remember he was drinking something brown…whiskey or something. He asked if I wanted one…I said no, but he said it wasn't a big deal. After a while, I said I needed to go home…I tried to stand up, but—" She looked at Eliza, "I've never drank before…I felt weird and I remember stumbling around. Next thing I remember is being on the floor with my pants down…he was on top of me." The silent tears streamed down her slim face, "I couldn't make him stop…I couldn't tell him no."
Eliza didn't speak and she didn't know if she could. She had watched her father get to the edge of being inappropriate at times, like at the campaign ball, with Georgia, and he’d clearly had relationships with women, but she didn't know that he would go that far. Or, maybe she didn't want to admit it. If it would have been any other man, she would have seen the signs, but he was in her blind spot.
The young girl's sigh broke their silence, "I missed my period earlier this month…I just knew. I called Uncle Paul and told him…he told me not to worry about it. Gave me Dr. Abigail's number…she was nice. But, I guess there was a complication and I got an infection. That's how I ended up in the hospital."
"I'm really, really sorry, Nevaeh," Eliza couldn't dam the tears any longer. "I truly am so sorry! Sweetheart, I promise you, he will never do this to another girl again." Her anger fused and she lifted Nevaeh's chin to meet her eyes, "Do you hear me? Never again."