Page 6 of Unveiled Wounds

Shutting down those emotions, I waited until Emily was alone and Zook was out the front door before I headed towards her. “Hi,” I said, gripping the back of one chair.

“Hey!” She shifted the papers out of the way. “Come sit with me. I need a break.”

“What are you doing?” I had friends. I’d won over clients, but I wanted to kick my own ass for how stilted I sounded as I pulled the chair back and took a seat.

“I don’t have a license yet, but Count dumped the club’s papers in my lap, and since Zook is heading out on a run, I thought I’d go through this stack. What are you up to?” She stretched, working out the kinks in her back as she unfolded her legs.

“Are those as comfy as they look?” I nodded towards her pants. “I saw the ad they had in the magazine, but when I went to order, I didn’t think they would be practical.” This was awkward and getting worse. I wasn’t lying. I had almost bought the same pair of loungewear, but the price tag had made me think twice.

“They are, but if you order a pair, don’t get the top. It’s not worth it, and I ended up sending mine back.” She shrugged when she noticed me staring at her military t-shirt. “I just wanted to be close to him.”

“It’s okay.” I waved my hand over Grizz’s sweatshirt. “I get it.”

“Emotional support, right? I know Tyler will be fine. He can handle himself, and he has my brother with him, but I’m trying not to run out the front door and beg him to take me with him. Does the feeling ever get better?” She dropped her hands into her lap and lowered her eyes, embarrassed at admitting she was going to miss her man.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I’m not really the person to answer that.”

Emily made a sound and smiled at me. “Well, we have each other, so that should help.”

“Can I ask you something?”

This was harder than I thought it was going to be, and the shame poured off of me in waves. I couldn’t face her, because Idoubted Emily would have ever found herself in this fucked up situation.

“Sure.”

“Did they tell you about my—me?”

“I know some of it, and I think the papers are in this mess somewhere.” She waved her hand over the table. “Why don’t you tell me what you know, and I’ll take notes. I can then go back and compare.” She pulled out a yellow legal pad and uncapped her pen.

My mouth dropped open, but nothing came out.

“I won’t judge.”

I wanted to believe her, but I’d learned a long time ago it was easier to choke in the silence than face the disappointment. If my sister hadn’t understood me, I wasn’t confident a perfect stranger would. Contemplating how much of the sordid tale I wanted to tell, I knew there really wasn’t anything Emily could say that I hadn’t heard before. I swallowed hard, my throat tight, and when I opened my mouth for the second time, the words flowed. “I’ve always wanted the fairytale. The butterflies in your stomach. The longing to be with someone every waking second of the day. Calls just to say you were thinking of them. That’s how I thought love should be, so when I met Brandon, and he did and said all the right things, I thought it was perfect. We dated for almost two years before he proposed.”

“It wasn’t, was it?” she asked me, when I’d gone silent. “Perfect?”

“No.” I sighed, preparing to tell her more. “At first, it was the small things. I was working my way up at one of the head architectural firms in the city. If I had a business function, he would only show if his schedule was open. If the bank needed him to be present, I had to rearrange my schedule to be the supportive partner. The first couple of times, I threw a fit, but he’d turn the words around to make me feel like I was the badguy. We were supposed to be a team, working for a common goal. Eventually, I stopped fighting, adjusting to whatever I thought would please him—until I stood in front a mirror at my wedding and didn’t recognize the woman staring back.”

“Did you know Brandon was signing your name as a part owner?”

“No. He didn’t need money. His family is well off, and he was only working to make connections he thought would benefit them.”

Emily chuckled. “That’s how I ended up at Nelson’s. Continue.” She waved her hand at me.

“When I looked for places to live, he wasn’t interested. If I brought up a budget, he’d tell me to pick. It made me swoon because I actually thought he was giving me what I wanted. In fact, when I purchased the condo, he put nothing towards it, although it was supposed to be our starter home. I’ve paid all the payments. The insurance, everything. I don’t even know if it’s still mine.”

“It is! Grizz has been making the payments.”

“Do you know anything about my car?” I wasn’t ready to unpack my feelings for Grizz. Hurrying on, I finally had the courage to look at Emily. True to her word, I didn’t see any judgement in her expression.

“Highway patrol found it burned, so Cyph downloaded the police report, and your insurance took care of it.”

I felt embarrassed for unloading on Emily without ever having a genuine conversation with her or even getting to know her beyond casual greetings. “I’m sorry for dumping my drama on you. It was unnecessary, but I thought you might have the answers,” I said as I went to stand from the chair.

“Sit.” She wiggled in her chair, reaching out and holding my hand in hers. “This sucks for you, but it’s not the end of the world. In fact, I’m going to have fun kicking the bank’s ass,”Emily smirked. “I’m good, but I don’t know how much damage will occur before it all clears up.” She squeezed my hand in support.

“I probably lost my job, but they can’t take my license. If I wanted to get back to work, do you think I could?”

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