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This author can tell you from a first-hand interview with Jeff Wilder that Chase has written off the man who raised him. The elder Wilder lives in a run-down house with barely the basic necessities available to him. He suffers from physical and mental health illnesses due to his battle with alcoholism and addiction. When asked if his son has done anything to assist with his recovery, Mr. Wilder said his son rarely visits and has left him alone to grapple with the demons of losing his wife.
How can a son be so heartless? Mr. Wilder says that as a child, Chase struggled with anger issues, often becoming physical, hitting, punching, and even using a hockey stick to assault his father. The physical abuse became so traumatic that Mr. Wilder admits he was relieved when his son left home.
While there have never been any incidents of physical abuse reported, can a leopard really change his spots? And with Lily Valentine showing up to work sporting a black eye this morning, the question on everyone's mind has to be, is Chase Wilder a man out of control?
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?
My blood might actually be boiling.How dare she. I've never wanted to physically harm anyone in my life, but if Cassidy Tippett were in front of me right now, I'd show her exactly how I got my black eye and punch her fucking face in.That bitch!That horrible, gossip-mongering, lying, sneaky, fucking bitch.
"This article is bullshit," I say to no one in particular. Everyone is just awkwardly standing around, not sure what to do. Several guys are glancing at my eye and then over at Chase, and I knowthey're wondering. They're wondering if any of Cassidy Tippett's bullshit is true.
"I accidentally punched myself in the face, okay?" I yell, not making any of this better. Me telling everyone I punched myself is probably worse and even less believable than a battered woman saying she "fell down the stairs."
"It's true," Ozzy says, corroborating my story. "I was there. She really did punch herself in the face. I even had to get her some ice."
"And this," I hold up my phone with the article on the screen, "is bullshit. None of this is true, or at least whatever facts Cassidy Tippett reported have been twisted and skewed so far from the truth it's ridiculous."
Several of the guys nod in agreement. Most of them have been victims of Cassidy Tippett's sensationalization, but the damage has been done. Every fan reading this article will have an opinion on it. I don't even want to look at the comment section.
As the players file out of the kitchen, I can't help but wonder, how did she know?Where did she get her information? When only Chase, Holly, Avery, and I are left in the room, we stare at each other for a few minutes.This is a fucking nightmare.
"What are we going to do?" I ask Holly and Avery. This is their specialty. They'll know what to do.
"We are going ahead as planned. Everyone knows Cassidy Tippett is a raging, raving bitch. No one will believe this trash." Holly waves her phone in the air as if saying it out loud will somehow discredit the article.
"And how did she know about my black eye?"
"We've been posting videos from cooking class. I'm assuming it was a last-minute addition before she published," Avery says.
"And what about the stuff about Chase's dad?" Throughout this entire fiasco, Chase has been eerily quiet. His lips are turned down, pursed together in a frown, but he hasn't said a damned thing. If I were him, I'd be losing my shit right about now.
"She went to my dad's house." His voice is low and defeated. "My guess is she paid him. I'm a co-signer on my dad's bank accounts, and I got a notification this morning that there was an eTransfer of five-thousand dollars accepted into his account. I didn't think anything of it."
"But why would he do that to you?" Holly asks, dumbfounded.
"Because some of what's in that article is true."
♥?
Chase
Unease and disgust roil in my stomach. This is my fault. I've tried so hard to bury my past, but maybe it's finally catching up to me.
"What do you mean some of the article is true?" Avery questions, her brow raising in disbelief. "We're not idiots, Chase. You may have sowed some wild oats in the past, but we know you're not a violent person."
"No, I'm not, but Jeff Wilder is. The things he mentioned in the article are all things he did to me as a kid. He became very abusive after my mom died and got into a lot of drugs and alcohol. It's why I spent so much time at the Valentine's." The look of horror on Holly and Avery's faces makes me want to crawl into myself. No one wants to admit what a fuck-up their dad is or how badly they're fucked up themselves.
"I pay all my dad's living expenses and give him twenty-five grand a year to spend on whatever, but I know he just uses it for booze and drugs. I refuse to give him anymore unless he agrees to go to rehab."
Lily takes my hand in hers, linking our fingers together and squeezes. She wants so badly to fix me. To help me. But maybe Cassidy Tippett is right. Maybe I'm beyond saving. Maybe I'm not worth it.
"And the stuff about Anna Munro is true, and it started a lot sooner than what everyone thinks." My body goes rigid as I think back to the days when I was stuck living between the shit hole my home had become and the escape the Valentine house was to me.
I think back toher.I haven't said her name out loud for over a decade. It doesn't do any good to dredge up the past, especially when it is already long gone and buried. Barbara Bell died of a drug overdose after I left for London. Some might say it was divine karma, but she was just as twisted and fucked up as she made me. And Anna Munro just filled in the space she vacated. The world is full of sick fucks; when one dies, another just steps into their place.
The room is silent, and I know what everyone is thinking. I know the questions racing through their heads. Everyone is wondering just how fucked up my childhood really was. They're wondering if I was abused and how often. They're wondering how hard my dad beat me and why no one noticed or said anything. They're wondering who to blame and whose fault it was. The same questions that have plagued me for years are the same ones everyone thinks about when I bring up my past, which is why I prefer not to talk about it at all.
"Okay," Holly starts, and the sadness in her eyes just about undoes me. "Avery and I will work on this. We'll figure something out. Don't worry."
