Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Aria
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I needed to see you.” She tries to play the concerned parent, a role she never quite mastered.
“And being told we didn't want to see you wasn't a clear enough message?” Of course, it didn't. She does whatever she wants.
“I—I?—”
“Stop. We don't want you here.” Theo stands behind me, my back against his ribs. I am so grateful he is here for this, and I am not having to do this alone. My hand finds his, and he squeezes gently without his attention leaving my mom.
“Aria,” she pleads softly, “let me take you home. We can start over and pretend this never happened?”
“And why the fuck would she want to do that?” Theo barks from behind me. My body jerks in surprise, but his free hand grips my hip. His thumb caresses my side, a protective measure letting me know he is still here for me. That he may be angry, but not with me.
“This doesn't involve you,” she snaps at Theo.
“Why would I want to forget this ever happened?” I repeat Theo's question. I really want to know how she spun this in her head. How what she’s proposing makes any sense.
“I mean, I wouldn't want to remember months where I was kidnapped, held hostage, used, and manipulated.” Somehow, even when she is calling me a victim, she can't hide the judgment in her voice.
If what she was saying was true, she would blame me for it and would twist it and use it to belittle me.
Like, somehow being kidnapped and tortured was all my fault, completely inconveniencing her.
Theo’s grip tightens on me at the accusation. His fingers press so deeply into my skin that I know I will have perfectly round bruises clustered on my hip later.
“What are you even talking about?”
“You disappeared, Aria.” She almost sounds genuinely concerned. “You disappeared with a man who has a track record of abandoning women once he had his fill.”
“That’s not what happened, and you know it.” Now I am getting proactive over Theo. I will not let her spin things. She is not the victim here.
“Why else would he have left? We were perfect together!” she screams at Theo. It has been over twenty years, and she still hasn't figured out that, like almost everything that goes wrong in her life, their relationship ended because of her poor choices.
“How about the fact you were fucking my best friend?” Theo grits through his teeth. I can feel the heat radiating off of him. This time, I am the one squeezing his hand. She isn't worth it.
“You knew that wasn't serious.” Theo pulls me a step back as my mother tries to move closer.
“Serious enough that you married and had a kid with him.” The words shouted are full of disgust.
“Only because you left. You left me to raise a child by myself!”
“A child that wasn't mine!” His voice booms over my head.
“The child that you're speaking of is standing right here.” I push Theo’s hand off of me and step away.
He tenses as I pull away. He tries to reach out for my hand, but I pull my hands into the sleeves of my robe before crossing my arms. I just need a minute.
I am not sure if I should be happy he has been able to fully separate the idea of me being the daughter of his ex, or disgusted about the way he is referring to my existence right now.
She takes this moment to move closer to me, thinking maybe her argument is working.
“Aria, come home with me. I just want to protect you.” She tries to place her hand on my shoulder, but I shrug her off.
“Protect me? From what?” What does she think she can protect me from now? Now that I'm an adult and can protect myself. Where was this urge to protect me when I was constantly bullied, harassed, or shunned because of her lies?
“Him.” She shoots a glare over her shoulder at Theo.
“Him? Why would you need to protect me from him?” I laugh. Theo was distraught when he thought he had pushed me too far. He could never intentionally hurt me.
“Aria, when you disappeared?—”
“Left. I didn't disappear, I left . I chose to leave.” I will correct her every time.
“When you left , the police wouldn't help me find you. Said you were an adult and you were allowed to move.”
“Which is absolutely correct,” Theo interjects.
“So when the police wouldn't help me, I got in touch with a private investigator. I told him I was worried about you and that Theo had threatened you, which is why you left.”
“I left to get away from you.” I don't understand how she can't wrap her head around that fact.
“Well, he looked into the man you trust so much.” Here it is, what lie has she cooked up this time? “He confirmed a lot of my suspicions. Aria. Theo is dangerous.” Theo’s body tenses.
Everyone has used the word powerful, when describing Theo. No one has said he was dangerous.
“What are you even talking about?” She needs to just tell us the lie so we can move on.
“Theo is working with the mafia.” Her voice is filled with conviction.
She honestly believes this shit. I look at Theo, expecting to share a laugh, but his gaze is fixed on the front door, jaw tight and unmoving.
“He is either going to leave you because of his job, or put you in serious danger because of it.”
This shit can't be real. I look back at my mom, who is still talking.
“When he left me, he got mixed up with this really sketchy group of guys. People he met at Acadia.” Theo went to Acadia University?
I guess that makes sense, so many of his friends are alumni, as well.
“And the PI talked to some of your new coworkers. He was told that they have seen you with Theo. That he uses intimidation to control and manipulate you. They have also noticed several bruises. They said you never explain how you got them and brush it off.”
Her eyes flick down to where my robe has fallen off my shoulder. Theo’s bite mark is now showing.
“You don't have to let him hurt you anymore.”
“He doesn't!” I shout as I fix my sleeve and tie the robe around myself tighter.
He doesn't manipulate me. He has never coerced me into doing something I didn't want.
He would never hurt me, and there is a difference between being intimidated and someone using intimidation.
Jonathan is just intimidated. He has expressed his concern before; he has to be the one talking to the PI.
“He frequents Acadia; he was just there a couple of weeks ago. He must have gotten you in his sights and then strategically placed himself in your life. He is manipulating you. He stalked you, and now is abusing you.”
I look to Theo for answers. His face just dropped to the floor.
“Theo?”
He finally looks at me.
“Were you at Acadia that weekend you left?”
“Yes.”
“Did you meet me at Acadia? “
“No.”
“He’s lying!” My mom’s voice rings in my ear. “He won't tell you the truth, bab?—”
“Don’t call me that!” I cut her off. I don't want to hear her try to use a sweet term of endearment when lying to me, especially not one that Theo uses.
The little voice at the back of my head telling me he is keeping secrets, that I'm not getting the entire story, keeps getting louder and louder.
He is lying. He is keeping secrets. He doesn't trust you. He is going to leave. He doesn't love you. You're dispensable. You're temporary.
The words repeat over and over, increasing in volume until I can barely hear the shouting match happening between Theo and my mom.
“You stalked her!”
“I did not!”
“You are hurting her!”
“The only one hurting her here is you. You have done nothing but torture her for your mistakes the entire time she lived in your home!”
“You’re just using her to get back at me! Was this your plan? Play the long game? Use my daughter to punish me for an honest mistake?”
“Honest mistake? You fucked half the town, the only mistake here is you.”
“What are you going to do when you get bored with her? Up and leave? Leave her with nothing? No goodbye, no answer? That seems to be your MO. How long until you get bored with her? When you get her pregnant? Going to abandon her then? How long until she is all used up? You know she got passed around quite a bit already, I bet she can’t even tell you how many men she’s fucked! ”
“Do not talk about her that way! She is your daughter, not you. You have no right to judge what she did with her body. The only reason you were judged is because you were in a committed relationship, you ruined lives!”
"Whose life did I ruin? You seem to have done just fine!”
“Aria’s!”
How much of what she is saying is true? Where does he work? What does he do? Why is he always back at Acadia? Did he really meet me while I was there? Is he going to leave? Am I not enough? I know I can't trust my mom, but Theo isn't denying some of these things. Can I trust him?
The questions race through my head. Pressure builds in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I try to catch my breath, but I can't. I can't get a deep breath no matter how hard I try. The room begins to spin.
“Red.”