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“What a bastard,” I growled.
Lisa’s eyes filled with tears. “Earl came from an abusive background. He once told me his father would beat his mom and him. That his dad used to creep into Earl’s sisters’ beds at night and mess with them. I never thought Earl would perpetuate that evil with you, Hayley.”
Hayley had started shaking and tears streamed down her face, so I sat her down on the sofa and kept my arm around her. “Hayley should have received help,” I said to Lisa. “She should have gotten counseling. By blocking what happened from her mind, she was burying the incident and it festered in her subconscious.”
“I tried to persuade your parents to find you a therapist, sweetie. But they didn’t want to put you through it. They said you’d apparently forgotten, and it was better not to rake up the past. It was like they wanted to forget it too.” She perched herself back on the armchair. “I couldn’t stay in LA. Couldn’t carry on living where so many bad things had happened. I’d gone to college in Portland and a group of friends lived here. So I made a new life for myself and my boys. They have both done well, as you know.”
“I used to wonder why you suddenly moved away.” Hayley shook her head. “Why Mom gave up work and stayed home to take care of me.” It was like she was struggling to get out the words. “I’d grown up with Tyler and Logan, they were like brothers to me, and I remember missing them and you, too, of course. Now I know why I didn’t miss Uncle Earl. I just never thought about him. At all…”
“Your dad was my only brother, and I felt his absence badly.” Lisa’s voice had grown tearful. “But he kind of blamed me for what had happened, although he never said so in as many words. Just kept his distance. That’s why we didn’t see much of you over the years. We came to your mom’s funeral and to your dad’s…”
“How did you manage to keep Uncle Earl’s suicide a secret from me?”
“The question never arose. It was as if you’d erased him from your mind, just like you’d erased what he did to you.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of this, it’s that family closeness is important. I’m an orphan now. You, Tyler, and Logan are the only family I have left. I’d like for us to reconnect, but not yet.” Hayley’s mouth twisted. “You left me alone with an abusive man, Auntie. It will take me a while to get my head around that. It will take me a while to forgive you…”
“I’m so sorry,” Lisa wailed, crying ugly tears. “I was selfish, I know I was.” She wiped her face. “I just needed to get away from Earl occasionally. I had no clue what was going on…”
Hayley winced. “He robbed me of my innocence.” She turned to me. “I think we should go, Pierce. It’s a long drive back to LA…”
“Can’t I get you those sodas?” Lisa offered, drying her eyes with a scrunched-up tissue.
“We have drinks and snacks in the car,” I said curtly.
“Please, don’t be strangers,” Lisa said at the door.
I stared at Hayley, and she stared back at me. And, looking at her, I knew she was going to be alright. Obviously, there would be times when she’d think back to what had occurred, but my wife-to-be was a strong woman. She was fighting to rebuild her life.
“I’ll call you in a couple weeks, Auntie,” Hayley said, and we left it at that.After a comfort break about three-quarters of the way down the Pacific Coast Highway, Joe was driving and my cellphone buzzed in my pocket. I checked the caller ID.
My big sis Bethany. What the fuck?!
I picked up. “You okay? The boys?”
“We’re fine…I wanted to give you a heads-up.” Ominous silence came down the line. “Dad has sold your story to the Daily Post. Bullshit about how you went off the rails as a teen and how he, your poor longsuffering father, couldn’t do a thing with you.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Thanks for letting me know,” I gritted out. “Say hi to George and Archie from me.”
“What’s wrong?” Hayley asked from the seat behind once I’d disconnected.
“Just more bullshit from my dad.” I kept my tone measured, although I was seething inside. “I’ll fill you in when we get home.”
Which is what I did, as soon as we’d waved Joe off, taken a quick shower and had sat out on the decking, cool drinks in our hands.
Hayley climbed into my lap and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’m so sorry,” she said soothingly. “Has he done anything like this before?”
And so, I told her. Told her about the years of paying him off so he’d do nothing of the sort. “They must have offered him a shitload of money,” I muttered. “Or maybe he thought that, now Ramos is dead, he wouldn’t be able to milk his cash cow, i.e. me, anymore.”
