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Nodding, I pushed out of the chair. The room wavered a bit but I was mostly steady. Until Tray’s father rose as well and I glimpsed the malice on his face, directed squarely at his son.
“That’s it then. You use me for your ends and then you dismiss me as if I’m your servant.” He tapped his fingers on the edge of his mile-wide desk. “That’s how we’re playing things now?”
Tray ignored him. He took my elbow and brushed a kiss across my forehead. “Ready?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded and cast a quick look at his father. “Thank you for your help.”
I didn’t know where I was supposed to go from here. Was I supposed to get an attorney to represent my interests? Would I have to sue my aunt to get the money that was rightfully mine? God, I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to deal with any of this.
Elliott didn’t appear to hear me. His focus remained solely on Tray. “So Sarabeth is staying with you. I’m surprised there’s enough room. How many people are staying in that closet? A half dozen?”
The corner of Tray’s mouth lifted in a hint of a smile. “Guess we’ll be able to afford more than a closet now, huh?”
For some unknown reason, that struck me as hilarious. I let out a giggle and then covered my mouth in horror. “Sorry,” I muttered.
Guess no matter how much money I had, I would always specialize in inappropriate reactions and awkward behavior. Twas my gift.
“You know if you end up having to bring suit about this money, you’re going to have to relive it all. It will all be dragged through the papers again.”
This time, Elliott was speaking to me. Coldly.
“I’m not bringing suit,” I said, though I wasn’t sure what I’d do. Too much was whirling through my head.
“Let’s go.” Tray nudged me forward with his arm around my waist.
“It’s easy to look down your nose at your parents when you’re a kid who’s never faced a real trial in his life. You’ve been shielded from everything, yet you stand in judgement of me.”
Tray stiffened, but the arm around my back remained gentle. “You know what I was never shielded from?” He stared straight ahead, at a place I couldn’t see. “From the sounds of you hitting my mother. From the bruises on her face. No one shielded me from that, and I’m glad for it. Because I know I’ll never be like you, no matter what happens.”
Though it felt like I was moving through syrup, I walked with him to the door. I kept waiting for his father to say something more, to try to defend the indefensible.
He never did.
We headed out of the building and crossed the parking lot to Tray’s ‘Vette without saying anything. The ride home was just as quiet.
I didn’t know what to say, about any of it. So much was changing. Between us, outside of us. The ground beneath our feet felt as solid as quicksand.
He was my anchor, and now he was swinging too.
Once he’d stopped the car outside my building and turned off the ignition, I closed my hand around his on the keys. “You’re nothing like him.”
Bowing his head, he didn’t reply.
So I continued fumbling my way through the dark, because he did the same for me, over and over again.
“You’re angry at her for staying with a man who hurt her. I’ve put that much together, even without knowing all the pieces. But she found the strength to leave. Finally.” I sucked in a breath. Telling him my truth hurt every damn time. “Sometimes it’s easier to stay in hell than it is to risk it’ll be any better on the outside of it.”
His head lifted and his gorgeous blue eyes seared mine. “You fought your way out. You didn’t stay. You were fourteen.” He laughed bitterly. “She’s forty-four.”
“I could’ve tried to get away sooner than I did. Yes, he use
d Carly as a weapon, but it wasn’t only fear that kept me there. He worked on my head, convinced me I was nothing without him. That I couldn’t survive on my own. A part of me thought I really did need him.”
“That’s Stockholm—”
“Don’t spout syndromes at me. I’m telling you the reality. You’re so strong, and I’m glad for it. But you can’t blame someone else for being weak, when they don’t know how to be anything else.”
“You’re the strongest person I know. I’ll keep telling you that until you believe it.” He grabbed the sides of my head and pressed a kiss to my forehead that felt like a benediction. “God, if only I had a quarter of your strength. Then I wouldn’t hate her for loving him, even though I still do too. I can’t stand it, but goddammit, he’s my father.”
