Chapter 40
Kaz
I sit in Jonathan’s room and wait for Eve to finish cleaning herself up. Thankfully, Xavier and Sebastian were smart enough to call Riley and Corrine and ask them to bring over some spare clothes for Eve. The doctor had arrived at the same time as us and at first Eve had refused to be looked at. With a little convincing from me, she had finally relented and let him take a look at her. I can’t imagine what this woman has had to endure, being with Lockhart. Who knows how long he had her or the unimaginable things he put her through. My thoughts take me to Jonathan and Jamison who are currently in the living room with everyone else. They have both been unusually quiet. I haven’t had a chance to speak to either of them but since we returned, they have barely spoken two words to anyone, Eve included. Jonathan can barely look at her and Jamison, well, he was staring right through her.
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. I look up to see Eve standing there with the loose t-shirt and leggings that the girls brought for her. Her hair is washed and so is the rest of her body. It’s hard to imagine her being a mother to the two men I’ve been sleeping with. She doesn’t look a day over thirty. She’s actually very beautiful in an innocent way. Suddenly I’m a little self conscious. What if she doesn’t like me? I’m not exactly the girl next door type, however hard I’ve tried to pretend to be for all these years.
“Who are you to them?” she asks softly.
“To who?”
“My boys. I saw the way they were looking at you. The way they both can’t keep their eyes from straying to you, even at a time like this. They both care for you.”
I blush and look down at my hands, unable to find an answer for her. At least one where I’m sure she won’t think I’m absolutely insane. The bed dips beside me and I feel her hand wrap around one of mine. I look up, startled at her touch, but she isn’t looking at me. She’s looking out the window.
“A long time ago, I remember seeing that exact same look on my own face when I would look in the mirror. You don’t need to be ashamed. You love them both. The difference for your situation is that those feelings are reciprocated.” She looks over at me and smiles, squeezing my hand. “I have barely been here and I can already see it. I’m so glad, they have someone who cares for them the way you do.”
I look over to see Jonathan standing in his doorway, watching us. Eve turns at the same time I do.
“I think it’s time I explain where I’ve been all this time," she says, letting go of my hand and standing up and heading towards the living room. She smiles up at Jonathan before heading past him to take a seat on one of the couches. Jonathan grabs my hand and we follow out there where he pulls me down to sit between him and Jamison. Both of their hands immediately slide onto each of my thighs, causing me to shift around nervously. Both Corrine and Riley smirk at me but nobody else says a word. Maybe this situation won’t be quite as weird as I thought it would be.
“I’m going to start from the beginning,” Eve says. And she does. Everyone pitches in, filling in bits and pieces of information. Riley and Corrine talk about their parents and finding pictures with Eve in them. Xavier talks about his parents as well. The wistful look in Eve’s eye is obvious when his father is mentioned. She tells us about Lockhart and the vile things he did. About her parents finding out she was pregnant. Apparently, her parents and Lockhart’s made a deal behind her back. They were paid off to move away and disappear. Her parents whisked her away out of the country to finish out her pregnancy. Once the babies were born, she was forced to give them up for adoption and when she attempted to run with them, her parents had her committed. She remained locked up until recently when she was released.
“I don’t understand,” I say, confused. “How did you end up back here?”
“That’s just it," she replies. “I have no idea how I was released. One day, they just came and told me I was free to go. I was told my parents had both passed away and given an account with an extremely large sum of money in it. There was already a plane ticket purchased from the account, to bring me back here. When my flight landed, a taxi was waiting to bring me to an already furnished and stocked apartment. I didn’t leave for an entire week because I didn’t know where to go or what to do. The truth is, it’s been so long since I’ve been out in the real world, I wasn’t really sure how to do anything anymore. All I knew is I wanted to find my boys.” She looks over at Jonathan and Jamison, smiling with tears in her eyes. “I wanted them to know, I never would have given them up, had I had a choice.”
They both stare at her uncomfortably. I’m sure they have no idea how to react to this situation so I squeeze their hands to let them know I’m here for them. It’s not a lot, but the slight squeeze they both give me, lets me know they are grateful.
“Lockhart,” Riley pipes in. “How did he get a hold of you?”
“I’m…I’m not really sure. All I know is some men showed up to my apartment one day and grabbed me when I opened the door. When they dropped me off in front of Ethan, all he kept talking about was DNA Paperwork and accusing me of sending it to him.
“So you didn’t send him anything?” Jamison asks suddenly.
Eve looks at him with sad eyes. “No, I never would have done that. I knew how horrible he was when we were younger and although I couldn’t have known how bad he was now, I never would have wanted to put you both anywhere near him.”
Jamison dips his head to her, in an acknowledgment of what she says. I can tell he believes her.
“So Lockhart is really gone?” Corrine asks, from beside Xavier.
“He’s dead, Butterfly. He won’t be able to hurt any of us ever again,” Xavier replies, hugging her close to him. I see Sebastian hug Riley tight to him as well. The room is silent while we all revel in the fact that Lockhart can no longer hurt us.
“I know I don’t deserve it,” Eve says, breaking the silence. “But, if you could find it in your hearts to forgive me for not finding a way to you both sooner, I would really like to be a part of your lives. I want to get to know you.” She looks from Jamison to Jonathan, before settling on me and finishing her sentence. “All of you.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I say, barely above a whisper. I glance at the men on either side of me, squeezing their hands. They both look at each other before nodding and turning to stare at their mother.
“I think Jamison and I can both agree, we would like that as well, Jonathan states, squeezing my hand back. I look at Jamison, waiting for him to say something, anything, in this moment and when he does, my heart fills with excitement.
“We would,” are the only words that escape from his lips but it’s enough to know he means them.
The sound of a phone ringing jolts the entire room. Jamison pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and peers at the screen, his eyebrow furrowed.
“It’s Lockhart’s phone. The caller ID says T3.”