Chapter 58 Pull of the Tide
PULL OF THE TIDE
MOLLY
Iwake slowly, surrounded by Grey.
My sigh is full of his scent, and I smile, nestling deeper into his chest. His arms tighten around me.
I'm home.
Not at my parents' house, home.
No. Not at home. At Grey's. Because--
It crashes into me all at once. Carlin. Zip ties. A knife. My father. Grey.
My father.
The word doesn't fit, doesn't make sense. None of it makes sense.
I curl around the pain, into Grey, and he tightens his grip like he knows. Like he can feel the fractures in me as I break.
"I've got you," he whispers. "You're okay."
I don't know that I am. My wrists sting, the wounds throbbing beneath the bandages. My muscles ache, body sore, throat raw.
I stabbed a man. Carlin. There were ambulances. Police. They took Carlin, took the man. My father. Father. We answered all the questions. The sun was beginning to come up by the time we got here, to Grey's.
Grey.
I'm hanging onto him so tight, so thankful, so sad, so everything.
I barely remember going to sleep, but I'm grateful it was dreamless. When I open my eyes, the sun is high, late morning maybe, early afternoon.
I lean back so I can see him, find his eyes tight with care and bright with relief. He brushes my hair from my face. I touch his reverently.
"I missed you," I croak, my voice shredded.
"I missed you too," he whispers. "I should have told you I was coming to Louisville. I'm sorry I didn't."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was coming home either. I thought it would be the best surprise."
He kisses my forehead. "It would have been. I talked to your parents."
Emotion shoots through me. "Why bother?"
"Because it was important to you. Because it was hard on you, and I wanted to do my part to help. Even if they didn't listen, I had to try."
"Did they? Listen?"
"Your mom did. Your dad threw me out."
Of course he did. "How did you even get in the door?"
"Your mom let me in while he was resting. We talked in the kitchen until he heard us." His hand trails up and down my back. "I said what I needed to. Told them how much I love you. Your mom cried. Your dad told me to get out."
My heart fissures. "Grey," I whisper, his name cracking in my throat.
"I called him out. On the heart thing." A grim smile flickers across his face. "Told him it was interesting how he could yell at me, but you weren't even allowed to talk to him."
A bitter laugh escapes me. "What did he say?"
"Told me to get out again." He pauses. "Your mom followed me out. That's when she told me about Danny. About what happened when you were little."
My breath catches. He holds me closer.
"She was…desperate. I told her to call you right then and tell her yourself, that if she didn't, you'd never forgive them.
" She did—when I finally got to my phone to call dispatch, there were dozens of missed calls and texts from her and Grey.
A hard swallow, the knot in his throat working.
"Oh, and your dad's fine, by the way. Jumped up and chased me out of the house. His heart held up just fine."
"Of course it did." The knowledge makes me feel so tired.
"But then I tried to call you, over and over…" Somehow, he holds me closer. "I knew something was wrong."
"I thought he was you. I heard Carlin in the kitchen and thought…
he was you. He…he made a key. Came in after you changed the locks and took my spare and made his own key.
He's been coming into my house for months, since the teacher league started, since he saw us spending time together.
I tried to get all the details from him, tried to keep him talking.
I knew if he took me somewhere, you'd never… you wouldn't be able to…"
"You did so good," he whispers, holding my face. "You did everything right."
"He said he wanted me to be happy, that he'd do anything to make me happy.
That he knew what would make me happy, even if I didn't. I knew it was too easy when he acted like he was fine with you and me.
I knew that he was upset that we were together.
He started the rumors, Grey. All of them.
The kiss at the game, he kept going at The Horseshoe that night.
And after he saw us come out of the bathroom at the bar…
I think that's what broke him. Seeing us together like that.
He started the library rumor. And he whispered everything to Wade before the game.
" My voice wavers. "He did it all to break us up.
And when it didn't work, he planned this.
He's been coming into the house and…things were missing, moved, but I didn't want to tell you.
I figured I was just being forgetful. I should have told you. "
"You didn't do anything wrong, Molly," he says softly.
Something in me sighs, easing when he says it.
I continue, "When I left town, he thought we broke up because of the fight and my dad.
He's been watching us, I don't know for how long.
I found the tracker in a tiny extra pocket in my purse I never use.
Not that it matters anymore. He's in jail.
" I stiffen with the thought-- "He's still in jail, right? "
"He's still in jail. They'll arraign him today probably, but they're not going to let him go on bail, not after all this."
My body relaxes a little. "I knew he wanted to be more than friends, but I was so relieved when he said he was happy for us, I didn't think twice about it. I just never thought he'd…"
"Who would? He's always been a loner, only joined the team because his mama threatened him with eviction if he didn't. But of all the guys who've been puppy dogging around after you since you moved here, he was the only one I thought was safe. You couldn't have known. None of us did."
"We were friends. I thought I knew him."
"I think you did. I just think he snapped. He thought I'd go away and he could get back to you. But I'm not going anywhere. And I think he figured that out."
"for -- ……"I shake my head,"If Danny hadn't shown up, Carlin was going to take me, keep trying to convince me I guess.
He only had the knife in his hand in the end because he was going to cut me loose.
But then the man surprised him. Carlin didn't know how to fight.
He just grabbed the knife and…" My gaze slips out of focus.
"And I knew I had to get one too. And then you came and he turned and…
" I can still feel the jolt from the knife when I drove it into him.
"Maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe you would have stopped him. "
"Or maybe he would have shot me. You didn't do anything wrong."
"It feels wrong."
"I know. But it wasn't. He'd already hurt that guy. Your dad."
"My dad," I whisper, shaking my head. "I don't…
I can't…if you hadn't confirmed I'd have thought he was lying.
But then I remembered. I remembered him.
We used to walk home from school, but not my house, his.
Or sometimes the park. But I don't remember him kidnapping me.
I want to know why. I want to know everything.
My parents--" Angry tears spring to my eyes. "What the fuck, Grey?"
"They said it was why they were scared, why they were protective. They thought they lost you once." He pauses. "I don't think they ever recovered."
"They weren't protecting me, they were containing me.
My whole life, built around a secret they never planned to tell me.
" I wipe my eyes roughly. "Mom tried to tell me.
Did she tell you that? She started to say something and Dad just…
shut her down. Threatened her. Asked her if she was ready for the consequences.
" My voice shakes. "I watched her break, Grey. I watched her choose him over me."
"Molly…"
"I knew there was a secret. I told them I could see what they were doing. And they just…" I have to stop, breathe through my anger. "When I tried to leave, he grabbed my arm, wouldn't let go until Mom told him to."
Grey goes still, his voice low. "He put his hands on you?"
"He didn't hurt me. I walked out without saying I love you.
First time in my life." The tears spill over.
"I just…I'm so fucking mad," I say through a sob.
"I want to scream at them almost as much as I never want to speak to them again.
But I'm going to have to talk to them. I have too many questions.
I want to hear it from them. I want them to try and justify it to me.
But I think I want to talk to Danny first." I shake my head.
"I don't even know what to call him. Everything feels wrong.
" I break down then, and he cradles me, soothing me.
He says it'll be alright, and I believe him.
I cling to the promise like a life raft.
When the worst of it is passed, he says, "Do you want to go see him? At the hospital?"
I sniffle, thinking about it. "Do you think he wants to see me?"
"I do."
So I nod. "Will you stay with me?"
"Always," he says, the word thick with promise.
And for a moment, at least, I find comfort.