*****
When they arrived home, they were met with a very unwelcome sight: Grant was sitting in the living room chair waiting for them. His eyes had been focused intently on the front door, and when they closed it behind them, Gwen could feel his eyes lingering on them. She hovered near the front door, waiting for him to say something. It was obvious he wanted to talk them, probably about where they had just disappeared off to.
“Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the couch beside him. “I wanna talk to you guys about something.” Gabe went to move past him, ignoring him completely, but Grant put his arm out, snagging Gabe’s wrist. Gabe stopped, but he didn’t turn around or even look at their father. “This is serious, Gabe. Stop for a minute.”
“Let go of my wrist.” Gabe’s voice was darker than she had ever heard it before, and she could sense the hatred for their father seeping from his every word.
Grant took a deep breath, probably trying to calm himself before he exploded and they ended up in another fight. “Gabriel, I’m asking you to have a seat. Please.” Gwen could see his hand tighten around Gabe’s wrist—probably until it hurt. She held her breath, waiting to see what would happen next. Would Gabe acquiesce or would he struggle if it meant getting a chance to hurt their father again?
There was a tense moment where neither of them moved or even breathed, and Gwen fought the urge to bite her nails. She wrung her hands together to keep them away from her mouth, but she ended up chewing her lip instead. Gabe glanced over at her, and his eyes softened. His entire demeanor changed, and his shoulders relaxed. Their father released his hold on Gabe’s wrist, and he joined her on the couch facing their father.
“What do you wanna talk about?” Gwen asked.
Their father said nothing at first. He stared at the two of them, as if measuring them up. She took a second to return the favor, taking in all of her father’s features. Her father’s face used to be so familiar to her, almost as familiar as Gabe’s or her mother’s, but now it was as if she was staring into the eyes of a complete stranger. Right now, with everything going on around them, Gwen felt like she could have gone the rest of her life without speaking to her father. But it seemed like it was important.
“I wanted to talk about where you guys have been sneaking off to. You’re gone every day it seems, and you’re away for hours at a time, even though you know it’s not safe out there. That needs to stop, immediately. The two are you are forbidden from leaving the house anymore.”
Gabe laughed, but there was no joy in his voice, just a harshness that made Gwen uncomfortable. “You think you have the right to tell us what to do?” He laughed again, earning a glare from Grant. “You’re joking, right? You don’t get to order us around, Dad.”
“Gabe, this is serious!” Their father said, his voice a harsh bark. “Your lives are in very real danger.”
“What’s Roman gonna do to us in public with the whole town watching our every move like we’re some kind of fucked up reality show train wrecks? Besides, it’s not like he can do more to me than he already has.” Gabe ripped the bandaging off his arm, showing them both the jagged and puckered scarring. “Life sentence, remember?”
Grant looked solemn, and his voice was deeply sad when he spoke. “You’re wrong, Gabe. If you don’t cooperate with Roman, you’ll end up dead, just like Ginny.” The mere mention of their sister’s name had Gabe frozen in place. With a heavy sigh, Grant continued. “It’s best for you both if you stay inside where I can protect you.”
“Protect us?” Gabe asked slowly, his voice taking on an odd tone Gwen had never heard before. When she glanced at her brother’s face, she saw something that would have frightened her if it had been anyone else. He was shaking with rage on the couch, his eyes wide, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “You wanna protect us? Like you did Ginny?!”
Grant jumped to his feet, his hands lashing out as he gripped Gabe’s shirt, hauling him up off the couch. Their faces were inches apart, and both of them had their nostrils flared and their eyes narrowed. They looked like bulls about to go on a destructive rampage, and Gwen drew her knees to her chest, her eyes wide and frightened as she waited for the inevitable fight that would only succeed in tearing their family apart even more than it already was.
But the moment passed as fast as it had come. Gabe’s face twisted into an ugly sneer and he shoved their father away, knocking him over what was left of the table and to the floor. “I think I’ll take my chances with Roman rather than stay in this house with you another minute.” He paused at the door and gave Gwen an apologetic glance, but he left anyways, slamming the door shut behind him. Gwen sighed, feeling herself relax back onto the couch as the tension left the room. At least there’s no glass to break this time…
Grant was still on the ground, staring at the closed door with a look of amazement. Gwen thought their father almost looked proud of Gabe, but the feeling quickly passed and was replaced by overwhelming sadness. He sighed and his shoulders slumped, and he made no move to get to his feet. She went to him, kneeling on the floor beside him. She offered him a hand to help him get on his feet, but he waved her off gently.
“I’m so sorry, Gwen,” he said, looking away from her.
Gwen froze at the sound of his voice. If she didn’t know her father better, she could have sworn there was real, genuine sorrow and regret hidden behind his usual angry exterior. He was looking at the wall, then the floor—anything to avoid having to look her in the eyes. And Gwen realized why when she saw a tear fall to the floor. If Gabe had told her that their father had ever cried, she would have called him a liar. She almost didn’t believe it herself, but there it was on the back of his hand, plain as day.
Gwen sat there on the floor, paralyzed in disbelief at what she was seeing. She couldn’t ever remember a time in their life that her father had ever expressed true feelings like this. Even the day they had discovered Ginny’s body there had only been disbelief and anger, not loss or sorrow like the rest of the family had felt. She scooted closer to him, tentatively placing her hand over his. Sure enough, she felt the dampness on his skin and knew that she hadn’t just imagined it. Her father was crying.
“Dad, it’ll be okay,” she said, knowing that it was a lie. They both did. Her father’s secrets had irreparably destroyed his marriage and their family, Ginny was still dead and never coming back, and his remaining children were still in danger. None of this was okay, but she had to pretend right now for her father’s sake. If he broke down, she wasn’t sure he would ever piece himself back together.
“No it’s not,” he said, choking back a sob. Gwen was silent, pretending she hadn’t noticed it. “This is all my fault. I destroyed this family. Things are only going to get worse from here, Gwendolyn.” She almost shuddered at the usage of her full name, but she remained as still as a stone statue. “I’m so sorry,” he said again, burying his face in his hands as he sobbed again.
Gwen was unsure of what to do next. How did she comfort a man that as far as she knew had never needed to be comforted before?
“I should have told you the truth—all of you. Your mother especially.” He shook his head, turning his gaze towards the closed door. “I can’t believe everything that’s happened because of some secrets. If I could go back and tell the truth from the start, I would. But I honestly believed I was doing the right thing for my family. At least…that’s what I told myself. Maybe so I could sleep at night.”
“Doing the right thing for your family? Where does Ginny fit into that?” she asked boldly.
Grant sighed. “I regret nothing more in my life than not fighting harder to claim Ginny when she was born, even though I knew it would have devastated our whole family, especially your mother. Moving away from Brighton so I wouldn’t have to see another man raise my daughter was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“I’m sorry, Dad…but Ginny wasn’t your daughter. She never was. She was Uncle Geoffrey’s.”
“I
t’s weird to hear that,” he said. “I’ve always known she was mine biologically, and that’s the way I thought of her. You know, I used to sneak up here to see Ginny. I’d go watch her cross country meets from the shadows. So many times I wanted to go up to her afterwards and tell her how proud of her I was. I dreamed of father-daughter dances, birthday parties, and first dates. All things your uncle stole from me.”
“Dad, don’t think of it that way,” she said. “Uncle Geoffrey didn’t take anything from you—he gave everything to Ginny.”
She waited for the explosion, but it never came. Her father looked pensive, as if he had honesty never thought of it that way before. She was suddenly very sad for her father and the life he’d led. So much of his life had been spent either furious at his own brother or pining over someone he could never do right by.
What is right though? Surely Ginny had had a better life with Geoffrey and Sandra than if she’d been claimed by Grant? Technically, he did the right thing by doing nothing and letting Geoffrey do everything.
“You sound too wise for your age,” her father said, finally speaking after the mental bomb she’d just dropped on him. “And I shouldn’t be talking about this with you,” he said, his eyes going a little wide, as if he’d just realized how adult and touchy the conversation they’d just had was. “Why don’t you go upstairs and relax.”
“But what about Gabe?”
“Don’t worry about Gabe, Sweetheart. Let me do that. I’ll find him, I promise. Maybe you’re right, Gwen. Maybe everything will be okay in the end. As long as I have the two of you, there will always be a reason to keep going.” Grant leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, leaving her touched by his rare display of genuine affection.
He got up and headed for the door, leaving her sitting on the floor. “I’ll go look for him now, before it gets dark.”
“I’ll go with you,” Geoffrey said, making his way down the stairs. The two brothers stared at one another, and Gwen could tell by the look on their faces that Geoffrey had not only heard their entire conversation, but Grant knew it, too. His eyes weren’t red or puffy yet, but anyone that knew Grant would have been able to tell he’d been crying moments before.
To his credit, Grant didn’t look away in shame or try to hide the evidence of their talk. He just met Geoffrey’s eyes and gave him a curt nod. Without another word, the two of them left the house, closing the front door behind them. Geoffrey glanced back and gave her a tiny smile before disappearing.
Revelations (Brighton Wolves #1) Page 42