Page 64 of Secrets That Bind Us
"I kept my vows, Micah. And I kept every promise I ever made you." I twirl my finger, motioning to the office above his gallery. The one currently showcasing his flavor-of-the-month's shitty pieces. "None of this would have happened," I gesture between us, "had you kept yours."
"I'm sorry." His voice cracks, but I'm done.
How many times did Daddy apologize?
I make my way to the door of his office when I hear the unmistakable 'crunch' sound of my glasses breaking under my shoe. I bend to pick them up and put them on, cracked lenses and skewed wiring be damned. I open the door, grabbing my scarf, coat, and hat hanging from the coat rack. "Don't bother coming home tonight... or any other night." I say, barely above a whisper.
I shut the door behind me as Eli spots me, violence in his coffee eyes. "Oh honey..." He wraps a shaking arm around me, both pretending not to hear the shouting or things crashing behind the heavy office door I just closed. We get into the elevator, and I let Eli lead me through the gallery, the lobby, out the front door, out to the new downpour the heavy clouds promised, and then his Towne car, his driver opening the door for us. "I'll be right back."
"Eli." My voice cracks, but there's just no tears. Just a soul that's aching.
"No. You're not going to cry. You're going to wait for me here. When I come back, we're going to take you to the hospital so they can make sure you're okay. While we’re there, I’ll have them call the police department so we can not only press charges, but file for an immediate restraining order.” He says roughly. “Afterwards, I'm going to take you home, then pick your kids up from school. But right now, you're going to wait for meright here.Okay?"
I nod. What else can I do?
When he comes back, we do everything Elijah said... and we pretend his knuckles aren't bloodied and bruising the entire time.
My doorbell doesn't ring when I'm lying on my couch, ice pack on my swollen face. There is no knock on the door, just a jingle of keys I know are attached to aJack Skellingtonlanyard, and a heavy bag drops in the foyer.
There is the sound of quiet thuds, size eight footfalls coming toward the darkened living room where I am. A dip in the cushion at my feet. Hands pull my feet up and into their lap. No words spoken. No wordsneedto be spoken, I should say, when I'm finally brave enough to look into hazel eyes, rimmed with dark brown lashes.
For a heartbeat, there's a flash of anger. No pity. No awkwardness. Just me and Zoey, whose hair is lavender and makes the hazel pop, and our peace. I don't cry. She doesn't either, even though tears well into her eyes. They stay there, just on the verge, glistening in the dim lighting. Like mine. Never dropping.
These tears aren't of sadness or pity. They're anger. Frustration. Mirroring my own, because I know what she's thinking. The same thing I did– I unknowingly married my father. I asked Mama once when Daddy had changed. She winced and looked away from me, never gave me an answer.
We sit in heated silence, those fucking watery glimmering lines in her hazel gaze recede. Slowly seeping back inside. The silence is never loud between us, though. It's comfortable.
It's an incredible feeling, to be able to sit with your best friend, your sister via soul tie, and not have to say a word. For that alone, I love her. But I’m so grateful she let me sit in silence, even though I know she’s about to break.
The moments pass and then, "God, Verity. It's like... it's like I've gone back fifteen years in the past and seeing your Mama again, except this time it’s you. Please, because I gotta ask, please tell me this is the first and only time?"
I give a curt nod, drops of anguish fill me. Not just anguish. Humiliation, regret, and rage. "He was arrested, and an immediate restraining order was approved."
"Are you finally coming home?"
The question doesn't surprise me. She asks every time she flies up. I sigh. "Eli has scheduled the launch forGravityin Paris and then Verona, ending in London. As soon as the kids get out of school for winter break, we'll be spending the holidays there. When we come back, I'll be touring around here until late March. During spring break, I'll be on the West Coast."
"You know, I'd be mad at you for not spending the holidays with me but... I understand it. I just... God, I wish your dream hadn't taken you so far away."
"And I wish your dream had brought you closer."
She tips her head back and laughs. "Yeah right, like a bunch of WASPs are secretly aching for a tattoo shop to open in their little town? They'd throw me out in a pinch.Corrupting the youths."She says in a preacher's sermon's voice.
A little too accurate.
"Eli fly you in?"
She nods. "Flew me in while you were being seen at the hospital. I think I scared Evan. I don't think he's ever seen me throw up and almost shit myself. I was so mad, Verity. So fucking angry. The demon in me came out... I grabbed my emergency duffel and ran out as soon as Eli texted. Fuck. I haven't even told Evan I landed safely or that I'm here. It's been hours. I hope he still wants to marry me."
"That man would still marry you if youhadshat and thrown up in bed. I don't think you can do wrong in his eyes, Zoey. You're that man's everything and more. C'mon, let's call him."
She grins. "He's worried about you, too, you know."
I give her a lopsided grin because my cheek is still somewhat swollen. "Yeah? That poor angelic man is stuck with us for life."
She laughs. "As it should be."
I glance at Zoey, who’s fishing her phone out of her back pocket and brightening the screen. I wonder if she knows how lucky she is?
