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“Yes,” I whisper.
“Alright, whatever you want to do, we can do. Let me grab my stuff, let Nix and Reilly know, and then I’ll be ready to go. Okay?” He stands and steps into me, gently tucking my hair behind my ear and tilting my chin up as I nod in agreement. “No matter what, I’m always here for you. If it’s too hard being there, we can leave whenever you want.” His reassurance has me melting into his body. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I press my cheek against his hard chest.
“Thank you, for everything.” The warmth I feel in his embrace is comforting and empowering. He feels like home. A place I know I’ll always be safe and looked after.
“Anything for you.” He presses a kiss to my forehead before letting me go. When he walks out of the room, I pull out my phone to make a quick call. It rings twice before she finally answers.
“Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Do you need me to come over?” Lya rushes out before I have a chance to say a word.
Damn, these people are jumpy. “Yes, everything is fine, but I was wondering what you’re doing right now?” A tiny familiar shriek sounds in the background.Little Amelia.
“Just hanging out with the guys and Amelia. What’s up?” I can hear the edge in her voice. She’s been checking on me every moment since I’ve returned. I love my best friend, but she’s almost as bad as the guys about giving me space.
“Could you meet me at my parent's house in like twenty minutes?” I rush out the words so quickly I’m out of breath. The nerves are rattling me to the core from the anticipation of telling my parents what happened.
There’s a slight pause of silence before she answers. “Of course. I’ll be there.” That’s the thing about Lya that I love. She could easily ask me a million questions right now, but she doesn’t. She knows that if I’m asking for something, it’s important.
“I’ll see you soon,” I say before hanging up. Just as I end the call, Rush comes back into the room with his jacket and car keys in hand.
“Ready to go?” He gestures toward the garage.
“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.” We head to the car, where Rush opens the door for me, and I slide onto the sleek leather seats. “If you do something to make me use that tracker, I’m going to spank you so hard my hand will forever be imprinted on your ass,” he whispers into my ear. If I didn’t need to get this difficult conversation out of the way, I’d run just so he’d chase me and punish me.
“Never.” I smirk.
“I’ll believe it when I see it, baby,” Rush scoffs, closing me safely in the car.
Once he gets in, we pull out of the driveway toward my parents. The ride is quiet but comforting. Rush keeps his hand rested on my thigh, giving me the ease that I need. He’s not pushing me for a conversation, instead allowing me to be in my thoughts and work through this on my own.
The ride seems too fast, and I’m not sure I’m ready to face my parents. They are going to have to hear all about the torture I’ve been pushing through on my own. What kind of monster Zayan is. As soon as we pull up to my parent’s house, anxiety threatens to rip my insides apart. My breath quickens as my chest tightens, feeling like an elephant is sitting on it. I don’t know if I can go through with this. What if they don’t believe me? What if they hate me? Or still want me to marry him? What if they side with him just like Marnix did?
Rush’s voice breaks through my racing thoughts. “It will be okay. You’re strong as hell. You can do this, Tara. If you want us to turn around and go home instead, we can, but I believe in you, little fighter.” He rubs his thumb back and forth on my jean-covered thigh, easing some of the tension.
“I hate to ask this, but would…would you be okay staying in the car? I…It’s not that I don’t want you in there, I just…I want them to be focused on me and not wonder why you’re with me or who you are. Lya will be there, and my parents know her. I don’t think I can do this alone so I asked her to join. I want you to meet them eventually, but I—” Rush cuts off my nervous rambling before I have a chance to keep going.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I understand. I’ll be right here whenever you’re ready. You don’t need to explain a thing to me.” His voice is tender, reminding me exactly why I’m falling for him. He just gets it. Gets me.
“Thank you for being so understanding.” I lean into him and press a kiss to his cheek, letting it linger there for a while before pulling back. When I move back to my seat, I notice Lya pull up behind us, looking like a solid, stone force. It’s now or never. Climbing out of the car, I walk toward her and wrap my arms around her.
“Thank you for coming.” She tightens her hug on me, like I’ll disappear if she lets me go.
“Of course. I want to be here, and I’m happy you called me.” She finally releases me before stepping back and giving me a reassuring smile. “Ready to do this?” I haven’t even told her what my plan is, but she’s likely figured it out by now that I’m about to blow the lid off this secret I’ve been holding onto for way too long.
“Let’s get this over with.” I square my shoulders, taking in a deep breath before walking with Lya up to the door. The closer we get, the more I notice myself slowing down, anxiety skyrocketing inside me.
“You can do this.” Lya grabs my good hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I nod in agreement and reach for the handle, finding it locked. I didn’t bring my key, so I press the doorbell, trying to patiently wait for them to answer. I grew up in this house, but it feels different.
Like I’m an outsider looking in.
Like this isn’t the place I’ve known my whole life.
Like the memories in this house are ghosts of my past.
“Hello, how can we—Tara? Lya? What are you doing here?” My mother’s confused face greets me. That is before her loud gasp steals my attention and her expression falls into a frown. “What happened to you?” She reaches out to touch my fading bruised face, but I step back from her.
“Honey, who is—Tara, you’re back?” My father fills the door frame beside my mother, crowding the small space. “Oh, darling. What happened to—”
“Back? Back from where?” I interrupt my dad. He doesn’t say anything, instead just stares at me like I’m some sort of alien. “Back from where?” I ask again, more demanding.
