Chapter 11
Jay
As we pull up to my mom’s house in Aiden’s rental, I hesitate. I’ve been preparing myself for this conversation all afternoon, but I still don’t feel ready.
Heather and my mom arrived from the airport about fifteen minutes ago. Heather wasn’t thrilled about staying at Mom’s instead of going home, but I told her how important it was, so she agreed. I hate to unload this on them right after their vacation, but I know it can’t wait.
“Are you ready for this?” Aiden asks, looking at me with an encouraging smile. “We can come back tomorrow if you’re not ready.”
“No, I need to do this,” I reply, reaching for the door handle. “I need Heather’s help with the next steps I need to take. She’s an expert in this kind of stuff.”
We step out of the car and walk up the narrow sidewalk towards the house, the porch light flickering, throwing long shadows across the yard.
I can feel Aiden’s nerves behind me, quiet but present.
The last time he saw my mom was the night everything fell apart, when we were both outed.
I know she’ll be kind, but I can understand his hesitation.
Before I can even knock, the door swings open. My mom’s face brightens before she freezes.
“Jayson,” she gasps, her voice breaking. “What in the world happened to you? Were you in an accident?”
Rushing forward, her hands tremble as she cups my face. Her touch makes me ache, but the pain that really hits is in her eyes. I never wanted her to see me like this.
“Let’s go inside,” I suggest quietly. “I’ll explain everything.”
As I step aside, she notices Aiden for the first time, and her brow furrows. “Who’s this?”
“Mom… you remember Aiden.”
Her eyes widen, and for a moment, the years fall away. “Aiden?” she exclaims. “Oh, my goodness!”
Before he can say anything, she wraps him in a warm embrace. “It’s so good to see you, sweetheart.”
He chuckles, hugging her back. “It’s good to see you, too, Mrs. Taylor.”
“It’s just Ronda,” she chides him with a faint smile. “You’re old enough to call me that now. And I dropped Taylor after the divorce.”
Heather appears in the doorway, her tone sharp. “What’s going on out here?”
Her eyes land on me, and the color drains from her face.
“Holy shit, Jay.” She rushes off the porch and grabs my cheeks, examining the bruises. “What happened?”
“Can we go inside, please, and I’ll tell you everything?” My voice wavers. I don’t want the entire neighborhood to hear this. “And, Heather, I’m sure you remember Aiden.”
She looks past me, realizing it’s not Ray standing next to me but another familiar face. I see the moment recognition dawns. “Damn, Aiden, you’ve got hot.”
Naturally, that’s the first thing that comes out of my sister’s mouth.
He thanks Heather with a quiet chuckle and a brief hug.
“Let’s go inside so you can tell us how this happened,” Heather insists.
We sit in the living room, with me and Aiden on the couch and my mom and Heather in the chairs across from us.
“Before I start,” I say, “please don’t interrupt. I need to get this out.”
They both nod in agreement.
My throat feels thick as I start, “It was Ray.” Admitting the truth brings a wave of shame. “He did this to me.”
In unison, they exclaim, “What?”
“Please. Let me finish.” The words come haltingly.
I’m desperate to disconnect myself from what happened.
“Things have been bad for a while. This isn’t the first time he’s gotten…
physical.” I swallow hard and hesitate. “But this time…things got out of hand. He was really pissed at me about something, and…he hit me.”
My mom gasps, covering her mouth.
Aiden lightly touches my shoulder and whispers, “Jay, he did more than hit you. You need to tell them everything.”
I close my eyes, shame flooding over me as I admit the truth, allowing the painful details of what Ray did to me and the aftermath of trying to hold myself together to spill out before I lose my nerve.
When I’m finished, Heather’s whole body is stiff. “I’m going to kill that sorry son of a bitch. I can’t believe you didn’t come to me about this. You know what I see every day. You could have trusted me with this,”
“I know I should’ve told you. I didn’t want to deal with what you’d say. I thought you’d overreact.”
“I’ll deal with that comment later,” Heather snaps, then exhales through her nose. “Have you seen a doctor or talked to the police?”
I take a deep breath and try to stay calm as I answer my sister’s questions. I knew she would react this way, but it’s still hard to get all of this out in the open.
“Aiden took me to urgent care this morning. My nose isn’t broken, but I have cracked ribs.”
Heather keeps pacing, the anger radiating off her. My sister can be intense on a good day, but right now, she’s a storm barely holding back. All I can do is sit here and hope she’s done asking questions. Talking about it out loud makes it all too real.
My mom finally speaks, her voice trembling. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. None of this is your fault. You hear me?” She kneels in front of me, taking my face in her hands again. “You didn’t deserve this. You didn’t cause this.”
Tears spill down my cheeks. I nod because getting out any words feels too heavy. I want to believe her, but I don’t. Not yet.
She hugs me hard enough to make my ribs ache. “I swear, if I ever see that man again, I’ll string him up by his toes.”
Heather sharply responds, “By his toes? I’ll string him up by his balls.”
“You and me both,” Aiden mutters.
The tension breaks for a moment as my mom sits back in her chair.
She reaches out and pats Aiden’s knee. “Thank you for being here for him.”
He smiles faintly. “Of course.”
She adds, “I’m very curious about how the two of you reconnected, but we can wait on that for now.”
That’s another story that will have an abbreviated version, especially with my mom. She doesn’t need to know the exact circumstances of how that reunion happened; it would traumatize her for life.
“Okay,” Heather says, her tone shifting to firm, professional, and all business. “I’m assuming, since you didn’t mention it, that you haven’t filed a police report yet.”
“No, I haven’t.” I rub my palms together, my voice barely above a whisper.
Knowing I need to do it and actually doing it are two very different things.
The idea of walking into a police station and admitting my boyfriend beat me up makes my stomach twist with shame.
But this isn’t the time for pride. “I wanted to talk to you first. Aiden took pictures of my injuries this morning, so they’re documented. ”
“Good,” Heather nods once. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you to the station near your place. You need to file the report in the jurisdiction where it happened.”
Her decisiveness is both comforting and overwhelming. It’s what makes her an excellent lawyer and a terrifying sister when she’s on a mission.
“You mentioned you stayed in a hotel last night,” my mom says, cutting off Heather’s rapid-fire planning. “Are you staying there again tonight?”
“I paid cash for two nights. I was planning to stay there again, but I hadn’t really thought about where Aiden would stay.”
“I’ll get my own room at the same place,” Aiden says.
His voice is steady, with the same quiet strength he’s had all day. He’s been letting me take the lead, but I can tell he’s watching every reaction, ready to step in if I falter.
My mom shakes her head. “I have a better idea. Jayson, I was hoping you would stay here with me tonight so I can keep an eye on you. Aiden can use your hotel room since it’s already paid for.” She turns to him. “How long are you planning to stay?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Aiden replies, glancing at me before responding. “If it’s alright, I’d like to stay for at least a few days, maybe longer.”
That catches me off guard. I thought he’d come out here just to check on me, stay a night or two, and then fly back home. I don’t want to disrupt his life, but the idea of him staying is an enormous relief. Having him here feels like something solid in a world that’s falling apart.
“Oh, good,” my mom says, her smile softening. “I’d like to have some time to talk with you while you’re here, if you’re open to that.”
Leave it to my mom to build a bridge. She’s probably already replaying the past in her mind, feeling guilty about how things ended when we were teenagers, and the look on Aiden’s mom’s face that night.
It broke her heart just as much as it did mine.
I can already see her wanting to apologize, to make things right.
“Mom,” Heather interjects smoothly, slipping back into her take-charge tone, “would you take Aiden into the kitchen and get some drinks and snacks? I want a few minutes to talk with Jay, as his lawyer.”
I knew this was coming. Heather’s sharp; she can tell I’ve been holding something back. Once my mom and Aiden leave the room, she’s going to dig until she gets what she wants, and she won’t stop until she gets every answer.
Just as Aiden and my mom disappear into the kitchen, a thunderous pounding shakes the front door.
“Jay!” Ray’s voice bellows from outside, rough and furious. “I know you’re in there. Get the fuck out here right now!”
Heather’s already moving before I can react.
“Oh, hell no,” she barks, striding toward the door.
I’m right behind her, my heart pounding hard enough to make my ribs ache. She yanks it open without hesitation.
“Ray, get the hell out of here!” she snaps, her voice sharp. “I swear to God, I will take you apart piece by piece for what you did to my brother.”
Ray’s face is flushed red, his eyes burning with anger. He’s never liked Heather, and she’s never been intimidated by him. She stands in the doorway as if she’s ready to go to war.
“This is none of your fucking business, Heather,” he snarls. “This is between me and Jay.”
Then he sees me standing behind her. His gaze locks on my face, and for a split second, his bravado falters.