Chapter 19 #2
“Very.” She rests her hands on the rail and peers out to the dark beach below.
I get behind her and bring her flush to my chest, nuzzling her neck. “Do you like it here?”
“I love it. It’s beautiful.” She drops her head to the side, giving me more access to her skin. “There’s enough space here so when Aiden comes…”
I plant a kiss on her shoulder. “Finish what you were saying.”
“Why? It won’t happen.” She turns to me, placing her hands on my chest. “If he can’t support us, I don’t see how we get to the point where he can come to visit.”
“Would you feel better if I reached out to him and tried one more time?” I hold her at her waist. “I know what he did, but the Aiden I know wouldn’t ever put you in harm’s way.”
“But he did, and you’re livid with him because of that.” She huffs. “I’m furious with him.”
“Look, I’ll do anything you need me to do. With work, I’ll get over it in time. It’s just that I almost lost you to a disgusting world. I don’t want to think of what those men would have done to you. It’s a hard pill to swallow.”
“I know. It makes me sick too. But you’re right. If Aiden knew I would end up in that situation, he never would’ve helped my dad. ”
“He would’ve kicked your dad to the curb, no matter the consequence.”
“I always felt like my parents were using me as a pawn. I just never thought Aiden was a part of that.” She slips out of my arms and meanders back into our bedroom.
I follow her in. “Parents have a strange way of controlling their kids.”
“But why keep me away from you?” She faces me. “They knew you were a good guy. They knew you would be someone who would treat me well. Do they despise me so much they had to sabotage that?”
“Dori, I don’t think it was that. I think your dad has issues with your mom’s brother, and it fell on me because your dad could control me a lot easier than your uncle. It’s where he felt powerful.”
“Whatever the reason, I want nothing to do with them anymore.” She sits on the side of the bed.
“Are you sure about that?”
She bites down on her lower lip as she seems to consider it. “I am. They’ve been pulling the strings for as long as I can remember. I don’t want any more toxicity in my life.”
“And Aiden? Where does that leave him?”
“He’s upset because he can’t build his business now.” Tears well in her eyes. “He did this for money. I thought he had better morals than that.”
I sit beside her and hold her. “From what I understand, your dad started threatening him when Aiden was young and easy to control. It got worse as the years went on.”
“Why wouldn’t he let it go and see how wrong my dad is.”
“I imagine it’s hard to break free from that. Especially when your dad was hanging the golden ticket for a life Aiden always dreamed of having in front of his eyes.”
She takes a minute of silence. I stay quiet as she works through some of her feelings .
She shakes her head. “There’s more to it than that. There has to be.”
Even though I doubt Aiden’s excuse because I never saw the signs, I offer it to Dori. “Did you ever see your dad abuse Aiden?”
“My dad has always been verbally abusive, so yes. Why?”
“Aiden said your dad was abusing him and threatened to do it to you if he didn’t comply.”
Her eyes narrow on me. “You mean my dad was physically hurting him?”
“That’s what he said.” My throat closes.
“Why didn’t you tell me that before now?”
“He didn’t bring it up until I was about to beat him to a bloody stump, so I wasn’t sure I believed him.” My stomach flip-flops. “I’m sorry it slipped my mind, but I was out of my head in fear of losing you.”
“Why?” She stands, concern in her eyes. “Why would you think Aiden would lie about that?”
“I played sports with him and never saw any signs. He never had bruises that seemed out of the ordinary.” My thoughts spin as I process the events of the past few days.
What if Aiden wasn’t lying? What if he was trying to keep Dori safe, and it turned into something more than he could handle? Could I forgive him?
Dori studies me. “But now you think he might have been telling the truth?”
“I don’t know. If he was, I never knew or suspected it. Did you?”
Her forehead crinkles as she wraps her arms around her waist. “No, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“How is that possible? You lived in the same house.”
“But I hid in my room most of the time when my parents were around because Aiden told me to stay in there. He said it was safer that way.”
They lived in a big house, so it’s plausible .
Rising, I step to her and rest my hands on her hips. “Do you think it could’ve been something your dad did to him when you weren’t around?”
“Yes. Aiden always tried to keep me away from him.” She brushes beside me and peers out to the dark ocean. She takes a minute to herself then starts to cry. “It doesn’t matter though, because Aiden hasn’t been being abused by my dad in years, so it has to be about the money.”
She has a valid point, but maybe his dad used different kinds of threats against him as Aiden got bigger and was able to fight back. Threats that caused him to cower.
I walk to Dori and hold her in an embrace. “There might be more to this than we realize.”
She peeks up at me. “Like what?”
“I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out.”
I just hope the answers we get don’t break us apart.