Page 45 of Twisted Bonds
He's going to learn really fast that the Ryan he knew isn't one he can push around. She isn't as easy to mold as she once was. Getting her off the drugs was the best thing my son could have done for her. During that time, I felt that she was grateful to him without realizing it, and she attached herself to him because of it. Am I saying that she was manipulated into loving him? Absolutely not, but she was young and easier to influence, especially if she felt that she owed Beau for helping to get her clean.
No, the woman she is today is unbendable and marches to her own tune. She will seek advice or get another's opinion out of respect, but in the end, Ryan does what she decides to do, and that's it. I know she loves my son, and as much as I am happy that he has someone like her to love him, it also scares me because if I am to lose her to anyone, my son is the one. I've always known this.
I glance at Chloe and still see the beautiful woman I fell in love with, even under the skin and bones and bruised up body. Yeah, I noticed the bruises. They may be yellow now and almost healed, but I can only imagine what they must have looked like when they were fresh. I'm so afraid to hear the depth of her imprisonment by my uncle. How do I live with the fact that a family member of mine did this to her?
Ryan is right; there is so much to discuss and think about, but in the end, I know I need to do the right thing. I need to help my wife heal, and that means Chloe needs my full attention; I need to let Ryan go. I look over at Cayley, who sits so patiently on the couch, and I give her a little smile.This little girl has never known the love of her parents; maybe it's time she does. All we can do is try.
"How about we go pick out that room now?" I hold out my hand to the young girl.
She jumps off the couch and takes my hand. Turning back to Beau and Ryan, I try not to look at my pretty girl because if I do, I may be unable to say what I need to. "Go ahead and take her home, son. All I ask is that we get together soon and talk—the four of us."
Beau seems surprised by my words, but he nods and replies, "Will do."
Turning to Chloe, I ask, "Are you coming?"
"Oh, yes," she responds, but she goes to Beau, hugging him goodbye, and gives Ryan a little smile before returning to me.
I can't stop myself from looking back. I need to seeherone last time tonight. Her caramel eyes stare back at me, a slight curve to her lips. I give her a little wink and then leave the room with my wife and her daughter.
Cayley picks a room with a connecting door to another room so her mother can sleep close. I get it; it's not like Chloe and I would be sharing a bed again soon. This is going to be a long healing process. Only time will tell, but I'll be here if that's what she needs.
"I'll be back shortly. I'm going to talk to Bain for a little bit, okay?" Chloe tells her daughter before closing her door. She smiles at me, but it almost seems forced, a nervous smile, maybe?
"We can talk in your room if you want; that way, you're close in case she needs you," I tell her, but that only makes her more nervous. "Are you afraid of me, Chloe?"
"No, I…" Her voice trails off.
"I would never hurt you; you should know this," I say, a bit hurt that she would think this of me.
"I-I know you won't h-hurt me. It's just that I don't know if I c-can—you know—please you." She's wringing her hands in front of her as she says this, and I'm blown away.
"You think I want to go in the room to have sex? Jesus, what did my uncle do to you?" I'm not asking, it’s rhetorical, but the words that come out of her mouth next have my blood boiling.
"He made me have sex with him, Lyle, and…y-your father."
I choke out, "My father? I thought Beau said he's bedridden. How the fuck…"
"He is, but he can still—perform. Baxter is c-completely blind; he never knew w-who I was." Her stutter is new; I can only blame that on my uncle. "We need to bring h-him here. He c-can't stay there."
"You want to bring my father here—to live with us—after what you just told me?" I ask in disbelief.
"Yes, Bain. He n-needs his family, especially after t-the way Liam treated him."
"Well, it sounds like he was treating him pretty good if he was letting my father fuck my wife!" My voice rises before I catch myself doing it, and I curse when I see Chloe flinch. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you, and no, I'm not going to make you have sex with me."
"He did it out of s-spite. Liam did. H-He knew what it w-would do to your father if h-he ever found out that he h-had sex with his son's wife. Liam was vile and evil."
"You said was…"
"I killed him when he w-was about to kill our s-son. Liam is dead for real this time." She hugs herself with her arms and moves back and forth. "Bain, I don't know if I c-can give you w-what you need. Maybe we should go our s-separate ways."
I stare at the woman I was so thankful to have as my wife years ago and shake my head. "No. Not until we try helping you." And now I'm making it my mission to help get Chloe back in the right state of mind as before. She deserves to live a great life after everything she's been through. She may not be the same woman as she was years ago, but we can at least try to heal her, so she can be the best version of herself moving forward.
Twenty-Five
Ryan
"So, you never once returned to your house all this time?" Beau asks me as he drives us over to my childhood home.
