Page 35 of Keep My Secrets
“I needed to see you.” She tries to play the concerned parent, a role she never quite mastered.
“And being told we didn't want to see you wasn't a clear enough message?” Of course, it didn't. She does whatever she wants.
“I—I?—”
“Stop. We don't want you here.” Theo stands behind me, my back against his ribs. I am so grateful he is here for this, and I am not having to do this alone. My hand finds his, and he squeezes gently without his attention leaving my mom.
“Aria,” she pleads softly, “let me take you home. We can start over and pretend this never happened?”
“And why the fuck would she want to do that?” Theo barks from behind me. My body jerks in surprise, but his free hand grips my hip. His thumb caresses my side, a protective measure letting me know he is still here for me. That he may be angry, but not with me.
“This doesn't involve you,” she snaps at Theo.
“Why would I want to forget this ever happened?” I repeat Theo's question. I really want to know how she spun this in her head. How what she’s proposing makes any sense.
“I mean, I wouldn't want to remember months where I was kidnapped, held hostage, used, and manipulated.” Somehow, even when she is calling me a victim, she can't hide the judgment in her voice. If what she was saying was true, she would blame me for it and would twist it and use it to belittle me. Like, somehow being kidnapped and tortured was all my fault, completely inconveniencing her.
Theo’s grip tightens on me at the accusation. His fingers press so deeply into my skin that I know I will have perfectly round bruises clustered on my hip later.
“What are you even talking about?”
“You disappeared, Aria.” She almost sounds genuinely concerned. “You disappeared with a man who has a track record of abandoning women once he had his fill.”
“That’s not what happened, and you know it.” Now I am getting proactive over Theo. I will not let her spin things. She is not the victim here.
“Why else would he have left? We were perfect together!” she screams at Theo. It has been over twenty years, and she still hasn't figured out that, like almost everything that goes wrong in her life, their relationship ended because of her poor choices.
“How about the fact you were fucking my best friend?” Theo grits through his teeth. I can feel the heat radiating off of him. This time, I am the one squeezing his hand. She isn't worth it.
“You knew that wasn't serious.” Theo pulls me a step back as my mother tries to move closer.
“Serious enough that you married and had a kid with him.” The words shouted are full of disgust.
“Only because you left. You left me to raise a child by myself!”
“A child that wasn't mine!” His voice booms over my head.
“The child that you're speaking of is standing right here.” I push Theo’s hand off of me and step away. He tenses as I pull away. He tries to reach out for my hand, but I pull my hands into the sleeves of my robe before crossing my arms. I just need a minute. I am not sure if I should be happy he has been able to fully separate the idea of me being the daughter of his ex, or disgusted about the way he is referring to my existence right now.
She takes this moment to move closer to me, thinking maybe her argument is working.
“Aria, come home with me. I just want to protect you.” She tries to place her hand on my shoulder, but I shrug her off.
“Protect me? From what?” What does she think she can protect me from now? Now that I'm an adult and can protect myself. Where was this urge to protect me when I was constantly bullied, harassed, or shunned because of her lies?
“Him.” She shoots a glare over her shoulder at Theo.
“Him? Why would you need to protect me from him?” I laugh. Theo was distraught when he thought he had pushed me too far. He could never intentionally hurt me.
“Aria, when you disappeared?—”
“Left. I didn't disappear, Ileft. I chose to leave.” I will correct her every time.
“When youleft, the police wouldn't help me find you. Said you were an adult and you were allowed to move.”
“Which is absolutely correct,” Theo interjects.
“So when the police wouldn't help me, I got in touch with a private investigator. I told him I was worried about you and that Theo had threatened you, which is why you left.”
