AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re going to need to talk to Langford and Garrett. Once the story breaks, this place could become a madhouse. The press will be all over Balsam Ridge, and they could even show up at Garrett’s place in Nashville.”
He nods. “I’ll go talk to Langford tomorrow and we’ll give Garrett a heads-up.”
“Tell him it’s okay if he wants to terminate my contract early. There won’t be any hard feelings.”
He leans in and places his forehead against mine. “We have your back, Zoey. All of us,” he assures.
“I’m sorry to drag you into this mess.”
“You can’t drag a willing man anywhere, sweetheart.”
Mom comes over and kneels beside me. “I’m so sorry, Zoey. I’m so, so sorry,” she cries.
“It’s okay, Mom.”
“No, it’s not okay. I failed you, and I should have known.”
I wrap my arms around her. “I’m sorry too,” I whisper.
“What do you have to be sorry for?”
“I was punishing you by avoiding you,” I admit.
“Oh, honey.”
“You didn’t deserve that. I was angry with both of you, and that wasn’t fair, but we’re going to do this together. I’m going to go public, and I’m going to press charges, but that’s it. I’m not letting Tobias take any more from me. I’m not letting this define me, and you can’t let it take any more of you either. We rise together.”
“We rise together,” she repeats.
Zoey
Morris texts Langford.
He leaves to meet Langford at his house so the two of them can call Garrett together and fill him in on everything.
My biggest concern is having reporters sniffing around the weekend of his and Ansley’s wedding.
At Grant’s suggestion, I sit down with a pen and paper and start work on a statement he can release. It’s hard to find the right words to address years of silence.
“Dad, do you think he’s done this to other girls?” I ask.
“Probably,” he says.
“I never considered it. I thought it was just about me in particular. I’m so stupid. I could’ve stopped him.”
“Baby, don’t do that. Don’t beat yourself up. You told your mother not to, and I won’t allow you to either. You were dealing with trauma, and no one has the right to tell you that you did it wrong. If they do, you don’t listen. You hear me?”
I disassociated. It was like I left it where it was at. I severed it away. I separated from it. The guilt. The fear. I just walked out, dusted my feet, and buried it.
“I hear you.”
“Good.”
“I still wish I had put a stop to it,” I tell him.
He takes my hands in his. “You’re doing it now. That’s what counts.”
I bring my eyes to him. “I’m sorry I let you down, Dad. I know you wanted me to be an elite competitor. I tried, but I couldn’t be you.”
