Page 9 of The Will

She patted herself down and confirmed that she was only in the shirt she had been wearing yesterday. “So not all of that was a dream,” she mumbled to herself.Did he say we would do that again?Chloe figured she must have dreamed that part.Who says things like that to a girl after just meeting her that day? Or making her orgasm like that?It was not like they had known each other long or been dating for a while.

Also, he was not a small man on any scale. Chloe moved to get up gingerly, her body sore after being stretched by him. Chloe stood and realized that other than sore muscles not used to the exertion; she was feeling pretty good. She felt sticky and tense as she made her bed, but nothing a hot shower won’t fix. In fact, Chloe thought this was probably the first sex since the assault where she didn’t feel a twinge of guilt.

Chloe was showered, dressed, and had cleaned up her apartment from last night before Alex buzzed at the security door. She held the door open for him as he entered, and he leaned down to give her a possessive kiss on the mouth.

Alex smiled at her, “I got us coffee and these fresh baked scones with orange and cranberries or chocolate chips. I was not sure which you would want.” He set his burdens on her small dining table and gestured for Chloe to join him. Chloe grabbed a couple of small plates and sat down with him while looking at his expression, searching for any sign of trouble for herself.

Alex handed her one of the coffee cups while he smirked at her. “I will not chastise you or jump you, Chloe,” he said calmly. “Not all men are like your uncle or cousin. I do what I promise and follow through. For example, I said I would bring breakfast, so I am here.” He mentally added,I also take care of what’s mine and you may not know it yet, but you are mine.

The smell of her had been all over his beard and he had breathed it in the entire drive home. It had been a sweet and frustrating torture. He had even thought twice about washing his face before bed. Hygiene won, but that it had been a debate said volumes.Damn, going slow about this was going to be hard.He cleared his throat after a sip of coffee. “Okay, Chloe. Time for the rest of the story, and yes, we need to do this sober.”

Chloe took a sip of her coffee, which was creamy with a slight sweetness, like a mocha latte, which was her favorite. She was delaying the inevitable as she savored the drink, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for Alex to believe what everyone else did.

Chloe sighed and started. “Well, after the assault, I got myself cleaned up as much as I could, but my body was in so much pain so that was not as much as I would have liked. I wanted to strip my skin off and scrub myself until I couldn’t feel anymore. I pulled myself together enough to find my uncle. He was sitting at the dining table, having breakfast when I got to him. He loved to sit at the end of that long table like a lord on his throne.”

Chloe took another sip of her coffee. “Not only did he say he didn’t believe me, but he said the marks on my face were consistent with being a cock-sucking slut.” A tear ran down her cheek as she shared how her uncle had said that his son would never do such things with his friends or not. That she had been lying about “Little Gene” for years and wasn’t she ashamed of herself for both the lies and her current condition.

Chloe’s voice shook as she continued, “Once I had healed enough to do things without being in constant pain, I packed my bags and headed to my grandfather’s. My uncle had told me, ever since my mom died, that my grandfather never considered me to be his granddaughter. I had been grieving the loss of my mom, so I believed him. Despite the possibility that my grandfather hated me, I couldn’t stay in my uncle’s house. My grandpa welcomed me with open arms. I got six years with him before he died. He helped me work on myself and learn to love myself again.”

Alex looked puzzled. “So you have lost me now. It sounds like everything was going well for you. What happened and where does your uncle’s need to kill you come into the picture?”

Chloe nodded. “That started about a year ago when my grandpa was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had his pancreas removed, which was a success, but it meant he had to take insulin every day. He was not very keen on giving injections to himself. I oversaw keeping the insulin filled in the fridge, under lock and key since it was very costly, and administering it. My uncle found out I was being my grandfather’s caretaker and flipped his lid.” Chloe explained how she found her grandfather dead six months ago, and all the details that pointed to foul play.

Alex was putting the pieces together quickly as she shared. “I see, so you know how your uncle feels about you and the kind of person your cousin is. Do you think one of them did it? Were they trying to frame you? And why would they bother with all this?”

Chloe finished the last of a scone and took a sip of her coffee before saying, “Because I am the heir to my grandfather’s estate. I became heir not too long before my grandfather’s diagnosis. My uncle and cousin didn’t know about the change in his will until my grandfather was in the hospital. They had given him drugs for pain that really messed with his sense of time and place. Grandpa let it slip right before they wheeled him off to his surgery.” Chloe cleared her throat before continuing, “To say ‘if looks could kill’ would put the atmosphere of the room mildly. My uncle and cousin escorted me out of the hospital and across the street to a small park. Then they sat me down on a bench and yelled and screamed at me for an exceedingly long time. I couldn’t tell you what they said, I spaced out once the yelling started. I was told that’s a coping mechanism or something.”

“You disassociated,” Alex said to her. “It is a defensive move that abuse victims use to let the triggering abuse pass over them and not cause more internal pain. My mother told me it felt like she was watching a movie of herself, but she didn’t really feel what was going on, nor did she really listen to the words either.” He sighed and looked down at his hands.

Chloe grabbed one of his hands. “Thank you for that. I always thought I was weird and the only one that ever did that. It really helps to know that I was doing it to save myself.” She pulled her hand back to her coffee cup. “Between that incident in the park and the conversations I had both on the phone and when my uncle showed up to kick me out of the house, it confirmed for me that there was danger. I kept in touch with the officers until the investigation was closed, but I also did what I could to leave as small of a record as possible. I guess now that is why you are here.” Chloe smiled at him, but sadness filled her eyes.

“Never do that again. Don’t smile at me if it isn’t real, please,” said Alex forcefully. Chloe flinched, dropping the smile for a more serious expression. “I’m sorry Chloe. I have an issue with liars and false expressions. They tend to go hand in hand in my experience. I also only want the real you if that is okay with you.” He flashed a pained smile at her.

Chloe nodded and said softly, “Tell me about her, please.”

Alex looked puzzled. “Who?”

Chloe shook her head as if he was silly. “Your mother, of course.”

“Oh, well, that’s easy. My mom was a singer and actor who was dazzling when she was singing. It always looked like she let her inner light out when she was doing it and that her genuine emotions were free. I think that was what made me detest my father’s treatment of her so much.” Alex told his story of watching his vivacious, blonde, bombshell mother slowly caving to his father’s verbal and mental abuse. He described how his father would tell her she was the most beautiful woman in the world and then go to work and screw half of the secretarial pool.

He told how his father would have parties for powerful people and demand his mother sing, only to be groped and pawed over by those same powerful people. “She would look for my father to swoop in and rescue her, but he would never even look her way. If he did, it was to express his annoyance with her behavior toward a potential client.”

“When I was thirteen, “ he explained, “I found my mother half dead. She had tried to kill herself, and my father couldn’t accept that she would want to do that. Father hired a personal assistant for her whose main job was to keep an eye on my mother so it wouldn’t happen again. It caused her to spiral downward, and she pulled into herself more and more to escape reality. When she finally died, she was ready for it. It was the hardest thing for me to watch. I felt so angry at my father and so hurt, too.”

Chloe asked him, “When did she die, Alex?”

“When I was twenty-four, so about ten years ago,” He swallowed the tears that had welled up in his eyes. He blinked and then changed the subject. “Did you say my name?”

Chloe blushed as she realized she hadn’t said his name this whole time. Not while they talked or during anything else. “I’m sorry Alex, that was rude of me not to call you by your name.”

Alex smiled widely at her when she said his name again. “It was worth waiting to hear you say it. Of course, now I will want to hear you say it in other ways as well,” he flirted, licking his bottom lip.

Chloe squirmed and watched his tongue with great interest, remembering last night. She snapped her gaze away and shivered, “So, what happens now, Alex?”

“Now, we must speak with my brother, Cy. He has been managing the interactions with your uncle.”

“Do I have to see my uncle?” Chloe asked, looking uneasy.

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