Chapter 27
Kyle
I step into the house after a long day at the office, my exhaustion wearing at me from dealing with people who can’t understand how to talk to anyone. Sometimes I wonder if the headache is worth it, but I look around at the house that we were able to purchase because of it and I’m grateful. Nothing is guaranteed, so I can put up with some idiots in order to enjoy a nice house with the man I love. Hopefully Rory will be part of things soon. Smiling to myself, I set my keys down before heading to the bedroom. I need out of these slacks. Wes comes into the house shortly after I sit down and gives me a kiss on the head as he passes through.
“Almost ready?” I ask him, smirking.
“Fuck off! I just got home. I’ll be ready in five.”
I chuckle to myself and scroll through my phone, checking on local news and online friend updates. There’s never anything thrilling happening, but I like to be in touch nonetheless. I hear Wes leave the bedroom after a few minutes and head into the living room with me.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Let’s go see our girl.”
We pile into my car and head for Jerry’s. Rory’s on for tonight and we’re planning to meet her for her dinner break. The bar food there isn’t horrible, but Wes and I decide to pick up some diner food in homage of the first time Claire called me “Pool God” and embarrassed the shit out of Rory. We order her favorites and ours, complete with pie, before heading over. I find us a table while Wes goes to the bar to let Rory know dinner’s here. I see her give him a smile and a nod before calling over to her coworkers.
They give her a nod in return, and she escapes from behind the bar, and I notice Nathan’s here again. Part of me wishes I didn’t know his name so I could still call him Baldie. I suppose I still could, but his name defaults into my head now. It would be more effort than he’s worth. Wes sits down opposite me and a few minutes later Rory plops down between us, an empty seat across from her.
“Hey you,” she greets me and leans over to give each of us a kiss.
“How’s work today?” I ask.
She shrugs and digs into her food, and now I’m suspicious she’s avoiding the question. My eyebrow raises at Wes as we give each other a loaded look. He noticed too. Hopefully it’s just been crazy and Nathan’s not giving her shit. We let her get a few bites in before we try to dig into her day again.
“Sounds like it’s been pretty busy, then?” Wes asks.
“Yeah, pretty steady.”
He nods as a response and we’re quiet again. It feels stilted, and I’m not sure why. I felt fine when we got here, so maybe there’s something on her mind.
I wish she would just tell us what she’s thinking.
I’m not about to force her to talk, but it’s killing me to wait for her to start the conversation. After another moment of quiet, she heaves a large sigh. She looks up at us in turn, her face apprehensive.
“I need to tell you guys something, but I’m nervous about it.”
“Okay, we promise to listen,” I tell her, giving Wes a loaded look to keep his mouth shut.
“So, you guys are aware of my ex. I told you about him.”
“Yup, we can see him right over there,” Wes quips.
“Dude!” I admonish him.
“It’s fine. He is right there,” Rory concedes.
She shifts uncomfortably, but clears her throat and continues. “I might not have been one hundred percent honest about how bad our relationship was. I didn’t want you to worry, but after showing up at the girls’ night Morgan brought me to, it seemed like I should tell you guys all of it. I don’t want you to hear it from someone else.”
“Who else would tell us about it?” I ask gently.
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure anyone other than Claire realized how bad he is. She might tell you some, but I don’t know who else knows. Seems better not to risk it.”
“We’re here if you want to tell us now, but if you’d rather wait, then that’s okay too,” Wes says, gently taking one of her hands in his.
“You guys have to promise not to cause a scene. I don’t want to risk my job.”
“We promise,” I tell her.
“During our relationship, he was abusive. I’m sure he would still be today, but I suppose that’s a moot point. It was emotional abuse, but I think he was starting to get closer to physical before I left.”
She stops to take a breath, her eyes downcast, and I can’t help but reach other the table to take her other free hand. Looking up, she smiles at both of us, and I squeeze her hand in reassurance. It feels a little silly to be leaning this much, so I scoot my chair a bit closer to her to hold her hand more easily.
Rory’s voice hitches as she continues. “He beat down my spirit. Kept me feeling small. At first, I was just so damn happy to be seen. I thought I was special. It started with small comments, small changes to how he regarded me. He gave me the nickname ‘E’, saying ‘Aurora’ wasn’t special enough, so he changed it to ‘Eos’ then shortened it further to ‘E’. He made it sound special, but looking back, he made my name as small as he wanted me to be.”
My soul aches for this woman who has brought so much joy into my life. She’s connected me and Wes in a way that we haven’t done before. She loves snuggles and just wants to be with her people. How could anyone try to make her small? She can’t be; she’s too amazing. Part of me wants to be angry, but what good would that do? It’s not going to make her magically better and if I’m learning anything, it’s that my anger may make things worse. Rory doesn’t want someone else’s anger; she has her own simmering deep down. She just wants us to be here with her.
“He would belittle me in public, grab me by the wrist, and lead me around. Sometimes he left bruises. Anything that could possibly be marked as my fault was. If the weather turned nasty, it was because I wasn’t ready soon enough. If his car broke down, it was because I distracted him too much from doing his regular maintenance. I stopped trying to make things better after a while.
“I think it came to a head shortly after he scared Claire. It was a couple months after that, I think. He scared her at my apartment and things escalated after that. He pushed me to stop working, to get rid of my apartment, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. One night, he got so angry that he twisted my arm back behind me so I couldn’t move while he screamed at me. He threw me to the ground after and my hip and arm were bruised for a while. That’s when I left.”
Rory’s description of how she was treated sounds clinical coming from her. At first she was showing some emotion, but now by the end she’s almost detached. I decide not to worry too much about it. We’re at her job and I’m sure it’s hard to talk about. I squeeze her hand gently and lean over to kiss her on the cheek. She turns and gives me a small smile.
“Why don’t you come over tonight, sweetheart? I know it’s a late night for you, but we’d like to be able to hold you,” I tell her.
“Definitely. I don’t care how late into the night it is. I want to hold you in my arms and remind you that you’re safe and loved,” Wes agrees.
She smiles and blinks back her tears, and I can almost feel the gratitude pouring off her. “That sounds wonderful. I should be there around one then.”
“We’ll keep the bed warm for you,” I promise.
“Hopefully not too warm if I’m not there for it.”
“Just imagine all the naughty things we’ll get up to while we wait for you.”
“You’re incorrigible!”
I smirk in reply, giving her nothing else.
“We’ll stay for a few, then meet you at home. Is that okay?” Wes offers.
Wes knows it’s not really an option for her to say “no” to us hanging out longer, and I know it’s not really an option. However, we want her to have the opportunity to say it. We’re going to hang around for a bit with Nathan around, even if we have to let Rory think we left. Thankfully, Rory nods her acceptance of us staying.
“That would be nice. Hopefully, he doesn’t stay too late.”
“Should we talk to your manager?” I ask.
She sighs and wobbles her head back and forth in indecision. Before she can form a reply, her name is called from the bar. Rory looks over and grimaces when she sees how inundated her coworker is with her absence. Apparently, whatever help he originally had disappeared.
“I gotta go.” She gives us each a quick kiss and hustles over to the bar.
I can see Nathan try to reach for her, but she slips past him quickly and throws herself into the fray. Wes moves to sit beside me, and we watch Rory whip the bar into shape. She really is great at her job, and I think she loves it even though there are frequent days where operating is hard for her. It seems to take her focus off how she feels and gives her somewhere to funnel her energy.
“How long are we going to stay?” Wes asks.
I heave a long sigh, unsure how to answer him. “I honestly don’t know. It’s only seven. While I don’t want to leave her here alone, it’s also a long time to sit and take up table space for the servers.”
“Let’s just sit and see how the evening goes.”
“Yeah, we can do that. I want to keep an eye on her, but I’d rather not come across as overbearing, you know?”
Wes nods. “I get it. We’ll figure it out. He’s being a dick, but he’s not super concerning yet. I don’t think he’d try anything with her in public.”
“True enough.”
We spend the next couple of hours enjoying a few drinks and each other’s company. At one point, a DJ comes in and sets up a karaoke spot, so of course Wes hops up there to sing and try to get a smile out of Rory. I watch her the entire time, and between guests, her eyes are glued to Wes and a small smile graces her face.
We decide to take off around ten, giving Rory a kiss each before we go. She agrees to come to our place again, so I grab Wes’ hand and lead him out of the bar before either of us gets too clingy and claims a spot at the bar. Since I still have the keys, I start the car and get us home, looking forward to the middle of the night when Rory will show up.