“That doesn’t matter. What matters is Rose.”
“And Aria,” Knox says. “If she wasn’t involved in this, would you be fighting for a baby that isn’t even yours?”
I grit my teeth. I expected Drew to be apprehensive about this -- but Knox? I thought for sure he’d see where I’m coming from. “Look, I get it. It’s complicated as hell. But dammit, I love them both. And if that costs me five million dollars, so be it.”
“You know what kind of press you’ll get for buying her baby? And you said her mom is batshit. You don’t think she’ll sell this story to the highest bidder?” Knox presses. “Fuck, Tatum, think this through. Your career is on the line here. Think about your future.”
“I am thinking about my future!” My voice is louder than it ever gets and I slap my palm down on the marble counter, pissed. At all of it. “I don’t care about my fucking career. I’ll quit if that’s what I need to do.”
“The NFL?” Drew asks, eyebrows raised as if my words are too insane for him to take seriously. “You’d quit the NFL over this?”
“Yes,” I shout. “I would. Because I’m not like you, Drew. Aria and Rose feel like family and family is everything to me. And I’d never do to Aria what you do to Jessica every night of the goddamn week.”
“Fine, you want to call a spade a fucking spade, do it,” Drew says. “But don’t talk shit about things you don’t understand.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“It means what Jessica and I have is complicated. Marriage is complicated. And not everything is as black and white as you wish it were.”
“You don’t think I understand that the world is gray? Then you know nothing about me,” I say, my jaw tight, my shoulders tense.
“I do know you,” Drew says. “That’s the problem. You think you can fix this with money, but some things won’t heal with a goddamn Band-aid. And maybe it would be better if you just let her go.”
“I can’t.”
Drew nods, the finality of my words finally hitting home. “Then I’ll do what I can to support you, T. I love you like a brother. Why do you think I ride your ass so hard?”
Knox and I crack a smile at that. Yes, it got fucking heated there for a hot minute but deep down, I know these guys have my back. “I don’t want you to quit the team,” Knox says. “You’re supposed to take us to the Super Bowl next year.”
“Yeah? Well, it’s not about winning for me anymore. It’s about fighting for what I believe in.”
“And that’s Aria and Rose?” Drew asks, brows drawn down and giving me a look that tells me he still thinks I’m being an idiot.
“Yeah.” I take in a steadying breath. “I’ll do anything for them.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Knox asks. “Looks like you need to get to the fucking bank before it closes.
Hours later, I pull back into my parking spot and grab the envelope of cash. I don’t have all of it, but there is enough here that Ashley will know I’m good for it.
When my elevator stops on my floor, I steel myself for Ellis to be angry over my decision but he needs to trust me. Nothing matters more than the two girls I love being by my side. It matters a hell of a lot more than a football career.
I push open my door and I do a double take.
The woman looking at me is Aria in so many ways... but in the ways that matter, she is her exact opposite.
Ashley is here.
I exhale, not even knowing I’d been holding my breath. Because if she’s here it means Rose is home.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Aria
Seeing Ashley again doesn’t have the effect on me that I expected. In the past, when I’ve been with her, it’s like I’m a doormat, taking whatever she wants to dish out.
But I’m not that girl anymore.
These last few months, I became a mother. And it has given me a strength that I don’t fully realize until my twin sister is standing in the doorway of Tatum’s apartment -- my apartment -- looking like the same person I have always known.
She hasn’t changed. And for the first time in my life, I don’t let our sisterly bond determine my actions. Because that tired role -- being her twin, my mother’s daughter, a Ryan, a child star -- none of that defines me anymore.
I’ve grown up in ways my sister hasn’t, and I know she isn’t my responsibility anymore.
I don’t scream as she struts into Tatum’s place like she owns it. I don’t ask where she is or what she did with the money she stole from me. And I don’t wrap her in my arms, hug her and tell her I’m so glad she’s safe, alive, home.
And right away, I can tell that Ashley doesn’t like that she isn’t garnering any reaction from me. Her mode of operation has always been to make a grand entrance, cause a scene, get her way.
Not this time.
This time, she isn’t the star of the show. No one in this apartment is scrolling through her feed. It’s just Ellis and me here and we have no patience for her drama.
“Where is she?” I ask simply. It’s the only thing I care about. The only thing that matters.
Rose.
“Not even a hello?” Ash flips her long hair over her bony shoulder, her eyes dilated and her hands shaky. She’s not well. She hasn’t been in a very long time.
Ellis joins us in the living room, his jaw clenched, reading the room. To be perfectly honest, I’m glad I’m not here alone with her. I don’t trust her at all.
“You heard the question. Where’s Rose?” Ellis asks, his voice calm, matching my own tone.
“A deal is a deal. I need the money before you get the kid.”
My heart breaks then, for Rose alone, with who was left with my mother or some druggie friend and is being spoken of so callously. It’s wrong on every level imaginable.
A moment later, Tatum walks into the apartment, and asks the same question Ellis and I asked, “Where is she?”
Ashley rolls her eyes. “Where’s my money? Once I see the cash, then we can talk about the kid.”
Tatum takes my hand, threading his fingers through mine and then glares at Ashley. “I’ll get you the money. All of it. But if you want it, you need to bring Rose to us. We’re not playing games. We need to know she’s safe.”
Ashely’s lips pull into a sneer when she looks down at our joined hands. “Look at you two all nice and cozy. So what, you want my kid so you can continue playing house?” She chuckles darkly and looks at me. “Funny how the tables have turned. Looks like it’s you trying to be me now. Taking my scraps.” Her eyes roam over Tatum’s body. “Not that I blame you. I’d go for a round two. What do you say? Tatum, how about a little twin on twin action?”
My stomach rolls and bile rises in my throat.
Tatum doesn’t give me a chance to respond. He moves towards her, his gaze hard betraying the distrust and anger I know he’s feeling. “Enough. I’ve given you a chance to make this right. But I will call the police if Rose isn’t here by this time tomorrow.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Ashley seethes. “She’s my daughter.”
“A daughter you abandoned, then kidnapped.” Tatum’s face is red with rage. “I’ll go to the cops--”
“And what?” she asks glaring at him. Then a small smile spreads across her mouth. “You think they will be understanding after I tell them you raped me and got me pregnant?”
“That’s a fucking lie and you know it.” Tatum’s green eyes turn dark, her words untrue and hurtful on the deepest possible level. Tatum’s integrity is something he values so highly. It’s one of the reasons I love him so damn much.
“Don’t you dare talk like that,” I say. “Your words have power, Ash, the power to destroy.”
“Is that right?” Ash crosses her arms, stalking toward me. “I guess you’d know all about destroying things, don’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means my life was going great until you decided to ruin it because your feelings got
hurt. You destroyed me. Took everything from me.”
I tense at her words, remembering the end of our career. The months leading up to when the little empire we’d built came crashing to the ground.
“You know nothing...” I say tears burning in my eyes.
She steps closer, her blue eyes the same color as my own and dark with hatred for me. “I know Ward and you did the nasty and then he didn’t like what he tasted.” She scoffs. “He preferred me over you. And then like the entitled bitch you’ve always been, you ended the show. Ruined me because a boy didn’t like you.”
“Fuck you, Ashley,” I say, unable to control the emotions that boil up from the deepest part of me. “You know nothing.” My words are raw, my stomach aching at the memory of Ward pinning me to the bed, covering my mouth when I tried to scream. Refusing to stop when I begged him to.
Taking my virginity.
My dignity.
My confidence and dreams and belief that at our core, people are good.
He broke me and it took years to heal.
It took me meeting Tatum to believe that not all men are cruel. Not all men wanted to take and take until there’s nothing left.
Leaving the show after Ward assaulted me, was the bravest thing I ever did.
But now, as I look at my sister, I realize it wasn’t enough.
I should have been louder. I should have told the truth at the top of my lungs until someone, anyone, heard me. Believed me.
Tatum pulls me into his arms. I don’t realize I’m trembling, tears falling from my face, shoulders shaking, until my face is buried against his chest and until he is holding me close.
“It’s okay,” he says. I’ve got you.”
I wipe my eyes, steadying myself and looking at my sister, Tatum still holding me the way I need him to. “Ward raped me, Ashley. That is why I left the show. Not because my feelings were hurt. But because I couldn’t stand to be on the set and look my rapist in the eyes.”
The room goes still. Everyone takes a collective intake of air as my words hit home.
For a moment, I see my twin sister falter, see her look at me with a trace of understanding as if she finally gets it. Like she sees me. But the moment is gone as quickly as it came. And she retreats to glassy eyes and calloused words.
“I didn’t come here for an Aria therapy session but whatever. Just give me the money and I’ll go.”
“I’m not giving you a cent until we have Rose,” Tatum says. “And you’ve signed the custody papers giving up your rights to her.”
“I need the money now.” She rubs her thin, bruised arms, her earlier arrogance gone.
“Not until we have Rose.” Tatum’s repeats, his jaw clenched.
“Ashley, please,” I say. “We’re trying to do the right thing. And not just for Rose, but for you too.”
She snorts. “By taking my kid from me?”
“By making sure she’s safe. You can get help. Clean yourself up. You can still be part of Rose’s life--”
“You always did think you were better than me.” She glares at me, but something has changed. A wall has come down and for a moment I think I can see the girl I once knew. The sister who’d been my best friend once upon a time.
She turns and starts to walk towards the door and I feel myself deflating. We’re no closer to getting Rose back then we’d been before.
“What about Rose?” Tatum asks.
“I guess we’ll see. Won’t we?” She leaves as quickly as she came and the air in the room is heavy as the door slams.
I swallow, trying to steady myself, but it’s impossible.
Too many memories have surfaced. Too much is still at stake.
I’ve never talked about what Ward did to me. Never said the truth out loud to anyone except my mother. She’s the one who made it all go away. Or at least that’s how she put it. Took a settlement of God knows how much money and signed a non-disclosure agreement. She made me swear I’d never tell another soul.
A cold shiver races through my body and I hug my arms around myself, stupid tears falling over my cheek.
“I’m gonna head out for the night,” Ellis says and I catch the look he gives Tatum. “Think I’m gonna meet up with Knox. Give you two some time.”
Tatum nods. “Love you man,” he tells his brother and it makes me start crying even harder.
When we’re alone, Tatum takes my hand and leads me to our room. On the bed, I curl up in a tight ball, facing him. This man who has my whole heart, this man who needs to hear the whole story from beginning to end. If he wants my future, he needs to know my past.
“He hurt Ash too,” I tell him, explaining it all. The night Ward wouldn’t stop with me. There months before when he wouldn’t stop with Ashley. How she would never see him as an abuser, but instead her ticket to where she wanted to go. “I wish we could go back in time,” I tell Tatum. “I would speak up for what happened to us and not let him continue his career as if he wasn’t a criminal.”
“You were so young,” Tatum says. “It’s too much for a fifteen-year-old too carry.”
“Too much for anyone to carry,” I say.
“It’s not too late to press charges,” he says. “You can get the justice you deserve.”
“Maybe,” I say, exhausted. “But I just want Rose.”
“I know,” Tatum says. “Me too.” He wraps me in his arms, and we fall asleep like that. Wrapped up in one another.
I may have been broken but I’m not shattered anymore. I just need to make sure Rose is alright, then I will be whole.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Tatum
In the morning, I wake early, my head aching from the sleepless night. Aria tossed and turned in my arms all night, and even in sleep, she whimpered for Rose. And I felt when her dreams took an even darker turn, knowing the memories that surfaced yesterday plagued her. Fuck, I feel so damn helpless. If I could take all her pain away I would. But at least she opened up to me. Completely. It’s a start. A place we can move forward from, even though the primal part of me wants to destroy the man who hurt her.
Not wanting to wake Aria, I decide to go for a long run to try and clear my head. As my feet pound the pavement, adrenaline courses through my veins and my anger over everything that’s happened rises like a crescendo inside of me.
It’s only intensified when I get a message from the detective, I’m working with letting me know that Ashley returned to Beverly’s and Rose is there as well. My only relief is that Rose is safe for the moment. As crazy as Beverly is, I know she won’t hurt her granddaughter.
Aria is still sleeping when I return and as I shower, I think through my options.
Even if I call the police, have Rose taken from Ashley, there’s no guarantee that the courts will give her to Aria. Beverly could fight for custody as well. And with the negative press Aria has gotten lately, and the fact that I’m not Rose’s biological father, she could win.
An hour later, I’m still no closer to figuring out what I should do.
My phone buzzes and I answer it when I see my brother’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” I say. “You didn’t come back last night.”
“I stayed with Knox. Figured you and Aria needed some time.”
“Yeah.” I drag my fingers through my hair, tugging at it in frustration. “Everything is so fucked up.”
“Look. I’m not sure if I should tell you this...”
“Whatever it is, I doubt it can make anything worse than it already is.”
I swear I sense my brother wince through the phone. “Yeah, well. I’m with Knox at some fancy-ass, celebrity golf fundraiser right now. Over at Sunset Hills Golf Course.”
I grunt. “You don’t play golf.”
“I know. Fucking ridiculous sport. Trying to hit a pea size ball across a football field and get it in a quarter sized hole.”
I chuckle because it’s my sentiments exactly. “That’s what you wanted to tell me?
“No.” He sighs.
“Ward is here.”
My entire body tenses. There is only one thought running through my mind when I hear those words. I need to take that motherfucker down.
“I’ll be right there.”
“Wait, Tatum--”
I end the call, and push my phone in my pocket, then reach for the keys to my Cabriolet.
Aria is still sound asleep when I glance in the bedroom. Something feral stirs inside me. A need to make just one thing right. My hands are already curled into fists and even though there’s a small rational voice in my head telling me to ease back, to think about what I’m about to do, I ignore it.
I leave Aria a quick note, Meeting Ellis and Knox, before leaving the apartment. I jump in my car, pump the gas, my mind racing as I take the exit for Sunset Hills. I don’t even wait for the valet to take my car. I just set it in park and jump out. The event has just started. It’s a fundraiser for natural disaster relief efforts and normally I’d be all over this kind of thing. But right now, I can’t think of anything but Ward being laid out to dry.
Knox, Drew, and Ellis see me, and I know they are concerned. No doubt Ellis told them the whole story and for that I’m glad. I want to have as many people in our corner as possible.
I jut out my chin, nodding to them, but my focus isn’t on the guys I trust. It’s on the fucker who stole Aria’s innocence all those years ago.
Fucking Ward Hudson. I see him, laughing, clapping some douche on the back, playing everyone for a goddamn fool. My vision is laser-like and my focus is sharp.
There is no need to ask questions, to get his take, to wait for him to say a fucking thing. There is nothing but me pulling his shoulders back, pushing him against the wall.
“You fucking piece of shit.”
“What the hell?” His eyes go wide as he takes me in.
“This is for Aria,” I growl pulling back my fist and punching him in the jaw. Blood splatters everywhere, my knuckles are on fire. “And this is for Ashley,” I shout, punching him again, my fist meeting his eye.
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