Chapter 13 #2
Lydia’s first instinct was to deflect, to minimize, to make it sound less ugly than it had been, but Ethan had just shared his deepest pain with her. He deserved the truth.
“Tom wasn’t always—” She stopped, started again.
“When I met him, he was charming. Stable. He had a good job in construction, made decent money. We got married when I was twenty-three and pregnant with Eli.” She picked at a loose thread on her jeans, unable to meet Ethan’s eyes.
“I thought we were building something. A family. A life.”
“What changed?” Ethan asked gently.
“He got laid off when Eli was about six. Construction work dried up, and Tom took it hard. He started drinking to cope. Just beer at first, nothing that seemed like a problem, but it got worse. Whiskey. Vodka.” Lydia’s throat tightened.
“I tried to be supportive and help him find work. Every time things didn’t work out, he just drank more. ”
Ethan’s hand found hers, squeezing gently.
“Then he got a DUI.” Her voice shook. “Got pulled over with Rosie in the car seat. She was only four, and her father was driving drunk with her in the car.”
“Lydia … ”
“I tried to get him into counseling, begged him to get help, to talk to someone about what was going on. He refused. He said he didn’t have a problem, that I was overreacting, that he had it under control.
” Lydia laughed bitterly. “A month later, he got another DUI. This time alone, thankfully. But that was it. I couldn’t risk my children’s safety anymore, so I filed for divorce. ”
“You did the right thing,” Ethan said firmly.
“I got sole custody based on the DUIs. Tried to keep Tom involved for the kids’ sake. Supervised visits, phone calls, that kind of thing. He kept showing up drunk. Always promised he’d quit but never followed through. Finally, I had to refuse his visits entirely. It wasn’t safe.”
Lydia took a shaky breath, the memories washing over her in waves. Tom’s bloodshot eyes. The smell of alcohol that clung to him like cologne. The way Eli had started flinching when his father raised his voice.
“He didn’t take it well,” she said quietly.
“Started coming around drunk, banging on the door at all hours. Yelling at me in the parking lot. Following me to the grocery store. I had to get restraining orders, but he’d just wait until they expired and start again.
The police couldn’t do anything unless he actually violated the order, and he was always careful to stay just on the right side of legal. ”
“That must have been terrifying.”
“It was. The kids were scared all the time. Eli stopped sleeping through the night. Rosie was having trouble learning. And I just felt—” Lydia exhaled sharply “—so powerless. Like I couldn’t protect them from their own father.”
Ethan pulled her closer, and Lydia let herself lean into his solid, steady presence.
“Then my great-aunt died and left me the farmhouse here in Willow Glen,” she said.
“She’d been in assisted living in Ohio to be near family, and I visited her regularly but it was an unexpected gift.
It wasn’t much. Old house, needed work, but it came with a little bit of money to help us start over and a paid-up insurance policy.
My lease was up for renewal right around the same time, so I took it as a sign.
I packed up a trailer and sneaked the kids out in the middle of the night.
We moved here without telling Tom where we were going. ”
“But he found you anyway.” Ethan clenched his jaw.
“I don’t know how. I was so careful. Didn’t tell anyone except my mother who was in Florida for the winter, and she would never—” Lydia shook her head.
“Somehow, he tracked us here. Set the fire. Tried to—” Tom had knocked her unconscious, and had left them all to burn.
“He took it that far. What kind of man does that to his own kids? And he’s still at it. He’s still?—”
“Hey. Lydia.” Ethan cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “You’re safe now. You and the kids. I won’t let him hurt you again.”
“You can’t promise that,” Lydia whispered. “He’s out there somewhere, and we don’t know where.”
“I know,” Ethan interrupted. “I know I can’t promise you’ll be perfectly safe. But I can promise I’ll be here to fight for you and the kids. You don’t have to face this alone anymore.”
The tears came then, hot and fast, and Lydia let them fall, easing away the fear and exhaustion, relieved to have someone on her side. Ethan held her through it, murmuring soft reassurances, his hand stroking her hair.
When she finally pulled back, wiping at her eyes, she felt raw but lighter. Simply speaking out loud all that she had gone through made the burden so much easier to carry.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was a lot to dump on you.”
“Don’t apologize.” Ethan’s thumb wiped away a stray tear from her cheek. “You’ve been through hell. You’re allowed to fall apart once in a while. Besides, if you apologize, then so must I. You heard my story first.”
“I did ask you to tell me. Is it why you barely drink?” She swiped away a stray tear and returned her focus on him. “Because of your job … and Sarah?”