Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Sloan
Present
We’re sitting in a circle, squeezed into Sutton’s living room.
I should be filled with anxiety at the thought of pouring all of my secrets out to this little family I’ve grown to love, but all I am is exhausted. I’m so ready to get everything off of my chest. To set my past free.
Taking a deep breath and blowing it out. I start from the beginning.
“Almost two years ago I was working as a nurse at Harvard in Boston under my real name Reese Archer. Sloan is my middle name. I was on track to become a nurse practitioner. Just three months away from getting my master’s degree,” I sigh.
My heart breaks at just how close I was to touching my dream, but it was just out of reach.
“James was one of the best surgeons in his field and Harvard recruited him.
Several months after he had been working there, he had asked me out on a date.
I said no initially, but long story short, he continued to ask.
Started leaving me notes. Leaving me flowers on my desk, specifically white roses.
“So, my two best friends that I worked with told me just to give him a chance and to stop being so stubborn. That I could find balance in my career and a relationship. Mind you, I had never really been in many relationships, not really any that mattered, prior to him. Just a few dates here and there, a couple short-term flings,” I continue.
“Anyways, flash forward six months later, James proposes to me at my favorite restaurant with a very uncomfortably large, gaudy diamond ring. With my parents there, I felt pressured to say yes, so I did. Even though I had been hesitant. My friends and family adored him though, so I thought maybe it was just me. That maybe I still hadn’t found the balance within myself. ”
Mayhem curls up into a ball against my legs and rests his head on my feet, offering his own support.
“We had an extravagant wedding. James invited everyone from the hospital and my family. James didn’t have any family.
His parents were killed in a skiing accident when he was in medical school.
No siblings. His ex-wife, Jessica was in a car accident five years after they were married.
Which I found out today was not an accident,” I shudder.
Quinn and Sutton both rub small circles on both of my palms. Sitting so calmly and openly with so much love on their faces, it makes me want to burst into tears.
The guys all listen intently, not saying a word.
You could hear a pin drop in here.
My chest aches for how much I love these wonderful humans.
I swallow a few times before continuing.
“We weren’t married very long when he…he started commenting on my weight, the clothes I wore, the way I did my hair, my makeup. Constantly calling me names and putting me down, but then parading me around at his dinner parties like I was his prized possession.” I take a deep breath.
“James also was a borderline alcoholic. The drunker he got, the meaner he got. He started getting really rough with me, but never did anything that could injure those precious hands though. Only leaving marks where no one could see. Gripping me by the hair too hard. By the arms. Threatening to kill himself or kill me if I even mentioned needing space from him. He’d even wave his gun around to prove his point.
If I upset him during dinner parties or before them, James would lock me in his basement. ”
“Oh, Sloan,” Sutton murmurs.
Looking down at my hands, I notice out of my periphery that Beck has his hands clenched in fists. I don’t even chance a look at his face.
“No man should ever lay their hands on a woman,” August says so fiercely, lacing his fingers with Sutton’s other hand, bringing it to his lips and gently kissing her palm.
“No, they shouldn’t,” Beck grits out.
“So how did you end up here? All the way from Boston?” Quinn asks gently.
“A month before I ran, James told me we were hosting a dinner party for his coworkers. We lived on a ten-acre property. One day while he was at work, I hid a bag filled with money, a fake ID I got from an undergraduate student, some black hair dye, and a few pairs of comfortable clothes inside of a bush in the woods and counted how many steps it took me to get to and from it from the basement door.” I close my eyes, remembering that night.
“The night of the dinner party, I intentionally upset him hoping he would lock me in the basement, and he did. I had been able to finally make a copy of the key to the door. I counted and waited a half hour and snuck out, making a run for the woods. There was a motel about a quarter of a mile from the courthouse and I stayed there for a week. I had filed for a divorce and a restraining order against him the day before the party. I arranged it so he would get them the day after I left. James never showed up for the court hearing, so the restraining order was granted. I dyed my hair black from ice blonde. I fled and found a train to New York and then a train from New York to Pittsburgh. Paid in cash and only planned to stay a month or so but then I met you all,” I say, finally genuinely smiling through my tears.
“I never really had a plan of where to go.
Never really planned to stay anywhere. Sutton and Quinn, you both just welcomed me with open arms. Offering me a place to work and a place to sleep without even doing a background check.
You both gave me a safe place when I needed it most and I will be forever grateful.
I‘m so sorry I lied to all of you.” After all of the anxiety from the day and from secrets from these beautiful humans, I finally break down into a soul wrenching cry.
“We love you, Reese or Sloan, whichever you want to be called. We love you. Thank you for allowing us to become a safe space for you,” Sutton says, squeezing my hand.
“Thank you for trusting us with your story. You are so brave, sweet girl. None of us could say what we would have done in your situation. You did what you had to do to survive. It’s admirable. Don’t think for one second that we love you any less,” Quinn declares.
“You are safe now, Little Dove. You will always have our love and support. You are family,” Beck offers.
“That prick better be going to jail for life,” Knox says, breaking the tension in the room.
“Way to ruin the moment, Knoxie.” Quinn throws a pillow at him.
Knox reaches up grabbing Quinn from the couch, throwing her over his shoulder. “What did I tell you about that nickname, Blondie!”
“Put me down you Neanderthal,” Quinn squeals.
“I say we have a sleepover,” Sutton suggests.
“The only place you are sleeping is in bed with me tonight, Sunshine,” August says, pulling Sutton down onto his lap.
Beck scoots closer to me, pulling me into his side. “Is it okay if I stay here with you tonight? I just can’t get the fear in your eyes out of my head. I’d just be more comfortable if?—”
“It’s fine, Beck. You can stay.” I give his thigh a gentle squeeze. Still a little hurt by the fact that he told the officer we were just friends, but I want him close, especially after today.