Chapter Eighteen
Myra
I ended up falling asleep on the way to the hotel and only woke up when we were in the elevator. “Hey,” Dominic smiles. “Megan and Paul are in our room waiting for us.”
“Oh,” I say as he sets me on my feet when we get out of the elevator. “They are going to be mad at me.”
“Why would they be mad?” Matt asks.
“She thinks it’s her fault,” Rose says. “They won’t be mad. They might scold me, though. Who knows?”
“Doubtful,” Dominic says as he opens the door to our hotel room. I expect Megan and Paul to run for Rose, but it’s me they hug first.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Megan says tearfully. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I… you…”
“Slow down,” Dominic says gently.
“Why do you care so much about me?” I ask.
“We have a confession to make,” Megan says slowly.
“Okay?”
“Do you remember your mother’s family, besides Alvin?”
“Uh. Not really,” I say. “A few of them stick out in my memories, but it’s been so long.”
“Do you remember your mother’s aunt?” she asks. “She was three years older than her.”
“Oh my God!” I say loudly.
“Okay. Now I’m confused,” Rose says.
“We lied,” Megan says to Rose. “The reason we were able to get custody was because we are relatives.”
“So, you are my… aunt?” she asks.
“I called you Aunt Meggy,” I say. “How did I not know it was you when I went to the station?”
“I think you did, but you had just gone through so much. I hadn’t seen you and Jenny since right before he killed her,” she says.
“She was almost ready to take you and run. She had cash saved up. I wanted to just come get her, but it was too dangerous. She was afraid he’d kill you.
I guess he got wind of her plan and killed her. ”
“I remember before she died, she told me something about us going on a trip. Dad said she was taking a bath when he came into my room. I can’t believe I didn’t remember you.”
“Honey… You were a baby with a baby. The brain has a way of protecting us, the best it can. We tried to convince you to stay with us, but you were adamant that if you ran, it would just get Rose killed. We reported everything to the police about your abuse and the fact you had the baby to begin with, but….”
“But Alvin was a judge, and Walter was a cop,” I say.
“We were afraid you’d think we didn’t care about you and just wanted Rose,” Paul says.
“We wanted you, but you refused to come with us. You didn’t want to chance endangering Rose.
We didn’t want to force you to do anything you didn’t want to, but we knew you had a lot of Jenny in you.
We knew you’d fight to the ends of the earth for your child.
Jenny died trying to save you, and we know you’d do the same for Rose, no matter what was said or done.
We made the wrong choice, and we will spend the rest of our lives regretting that decision.
You were so young. You didn’t have the capacity to fully grasp the situation. ”
“I don’t blame you. Just like now, they would have found a way to get me again. It never would have ended until they all died,” I say.
“Well, we are going to go to our room,” Megan says. “We will take Rose with us so you all can have some time together.”
“I almost made Dominic cry,” Rose says proudly to Paul.
“She called him Dad,” I say. “It doesn’t bother you that she keeps calling me Mom, does it?”
“Myra, I told you then, and I’ll tell you now. Rose Jennifer Lawson is your daughter. She has your mother’s maiden name. She looks identical to you. She tells everyone you’re her mother, so you are her mom,” Megan says. “I’ve never claimed to be her mother, and I’m not starting now.”
“Wait,” Rose says. “When things settle, does this mean I can stay with her sometimes, too?”
“If she wants,” Paul says.
“We have a spare room,” Dominic says.
“No, we don’t,” I say, confused.
“We haven’t moved in yet because we wanted to wait for you, but we bought a new house,” Matt says. “It’s close to Paul and Megan, too.”
“Wait, really?” I ask.
“Mhmm,” Dominic says with a smile. “The master bedroom is bigger, so we had a bed custom-made.”
“Ew,” Rose says.
“Exactly. Ew,” I say, and she laughs.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Rose says as she hugs me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head.
“Thank you,” I say. “But don’t do that shit again, okay?”
“Don’t get yourself kidnapped again, then,” she says as she pulls back with a grin. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Rosey,” I say, trying not to cry. “Go get some sleep.”
“Okay,” she says. “Night, stepparents.”
“Goodnight, Rose,” Dominic says, hugging her.
“Are you going to make me talk to you about this?” she asks.
“It doesn’t have to be me, but you need to at least talk to your therapist,” he says.
“If I have to, she has to,” Rose says.
“Oh, she will,” Matt says matter-of-factly.
“Okay. Go to sleep,” I say to Rose. “We can talk more on the plane tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she says with a smile before hugging everyone else. When they leave, all the energy seeps out of me.
“Let me help you take a bath, and you can sleep, okay?” Dominic asks.
“Can you take a bath with me?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he smiles.
Dominic leads me to the bathroom, and Matt comes with us to help me take the gown off. “How bad is it?” I ask.
“Uh… You’re cut in a few places, but it’s welted pretty badly,” Matt says.
“It felt worse,” I say, turning to wrap my arms around him as Dominic fills the huge tub. “Can you join us?”
“Yeah,” he says, kissing me. “I want to apologize. I know you wanted to be there when we…”
“Don’t,” I say. “You found comfort where you could. Don’t apologize for that.”
“Are you sure?” Dominic asks.
“Yes,” I say. “I very much want to see you two kiss at least. We can get to the dirty stuff when we get home.”
Dominic and Matt smile at each other before stepping closer.
I am giddy when they hold each other’s faces and kiss.
It starts gently but grows feverish. It’s amazing to see how easily they get lost in each other.
I step back to not get in the way, but they both grab me at the same time and pull me into a hug, sandwiching me between them.
I laugh and giggle when they both start kissing and nipping at my neck.
“Don’t you ever step back again,” Dominic says, lifting my chin. “You are the center of our world, Myra.”
“What about Natalie and Trish?” I ask.
“They are a part of it too, but we have all learned a lot going through this,” Dominic says.
“Natalie and Trish have gotten incredibly close over the last two months. That’s not to say that Matt and Natalie aren’t close, but it will likely end up where she and Matt divorce so she and Trish can get married. ”
“Wait,” I say. “You mean…”
Matt turns me to face him and cups my cheek.
“I love Natalie so much, but we are all finding our place in this world. People grow. She and I have not changed how we feel, but our love for you and Trish has grown and taken over our priorities,” he explains.
“All this means is that I will be in the room with the two of you. We will have room for them, but they will have their own space too. Nothing is wrong, and no one has hard feelings, okay?”
“So everything is okay?” I ask.
“Absolutely,” he smiles and kisses me softly.
“I know I’ve always made Dominic my priority, but I do love you so fucking much, Matt. Please don’t doubt that. I am still learning.”
“I am here for as long as you’ll have me, Myra,” he says softly. “Love is patient, even when the world is on fire, and we are desperate to put out the flames. We love you, Myra. Always.”
“I love you too,” I say, kissing him.
Dominic sits in the tub, and Matt joins him before I carefully step in.
This is a jet tub, so it is deep and wide.
Matt and Dominic face each other with their legs to their side of their bodies.
I sit with my back against Dominic’s chest and my legs on top of Dominic's, but on each side of Matt.
I close my eyes and relax as the warmth of the water and my men drag me further into my exhaustion.
“She’s about to fall asleep,” Matt laughs.
“Girl, we’ve been sitting here for three minutes,” Dominic laughs and kisses my shoulder.
“I love this,” I say with a soft smile and my eyes closed.
“Yeah?” Dominic asks.
“Mhmm,” I remark. “This might be hell, but the flames can’t hurt me anymore… This is my twisted salvation.”