“I can’t. I’m sorry, I just can’t.” I knew the words had to come out eventually, but I didn’t plan on Ethan finding out this way.
Derrick spoke up. “We didn’t give her time to make any decisions or try to reason with James about what was going on, especially with the way we found her, which I’m not at liberty to elaborate on. We left her car, phone, and purse, taking only the clothes and items she needed to get her out of there and to a secure location. We took her to Alexander and Celia’s place since we knew he’d go looking at her sister and parent’s location.”
I could hear the tiredness in Derrick’s voice and his apologetic look toward me as he continued. I was thankful that he hadn’t gone into further detail about how they’d found me that day. It was humiliating to even think of it, but I would have to come clean eventually. I listened as he went on, “We got her safely hidden before we went back to confront him. He’d first denied everything, but Rick had our team pull all possible forms of surveillance as proof to his actions. We’d traced the policy to the insurance company, which had recorded the comings and goings of James with someone who looked oddly similar to Marjorie. It turned out that he’d been romantically involved with this woman while trying to control and distance himself from his wife.”
Ethan’s hands fisted my gown, making it almost painful against my skin. “Define control.”
My uncle took the lead on this one. “I won’t get into all the specifics, since that’s my nieces job to divulge. All I’ll say is that he caused her to distance herself from the family. A few trips to a private doctor were required to right things, along with several sessions with Kent and Carol. She had horrific nightmares for the longest time. I know she puts up a good façade around others, but I know the true story, especially when it took 30 stitches to close her injuries.”
I felt small drops of water hitting the side of my face. Was Ethan crying for me? No, please. I’m not worth your tears. I’m not worth anything. I wanted to deny things, but I couldn’t. I wanted to protest my uncle’s admission, but I was in shock that he’d revealed some of my secrets. Granted, he’d bypassed a lot of the details, but still. I felt so stupid and naive to have trusted the man that had swept me off my feet, promising me the moon and the stars. I thought James was my Prince Charming, and for a brief moment was; however, he turned out to be a dark knight in disguise, intent on destruction and ruin.
I was surprised that Ethan hadn’t pushed me away, instead he drew me closer. His words were measured, “YOU. WILL. STAY. WITH ME! I’ll guard you with my life, expect no less.”
My uncle continued. “Derrick and Rick were able to subdue him and get him to admit his plans, but he never divulged his accomplice. We were never able to confirm the identity of the woman. He tried taking them to her location, only to find an empty apartment with no forwarding address. This woman had lied to him about who she was. They’d even checked the place for fingerprints and found it completely wiped down with disinfectant.”
“We were able to nullify the insurance policy and persuade him to leave town and never look back. We had Rafe draw up an emergency restraining order and start the initial divorce proceedings. I guess it didn’t hurt to have a good friend who’s a judge at the courthouse and has zero tolerance for abuse toward women.” My uncle laughed proudly.
“I bribed James with some money and a new location to start his life over. He fought it at first, claiming he was in love with Marjorie, but if that’s how he shows love, I’d hate to see what the opposite looks like.” I watched as my uncle shook his head, “He went to our predestined location, but then disappeared. It took us a while to find him. He moved a few towns over and acquired a better job than the one we lined up for him. We never could find his partner. He swore he wasn’t cheating with anyone, but we had proof otherwise. When he saw the pictures he kept asking us who she was and why was he pictured with her. It didn’t make any sense, so we believed he was trying to plead insanity.”
Derrick filled in the rest of the gaps, “We illegally injected him with some truth serum to try and get him to admit things, but even then he still claimed not to know what we were talking about and professed that he’d been faithful to Marjorie. He only admitted to being too forceful and degrading her a few times as part of a scene.” I watched as his hands fisted, as he looked with empathy over toward me in the bed. “He’s a sick bastard, that’s for sure.”
He regained his composure, “We have some of our Utah contacts checking into his time table and accessing some of his private records. All signs point to him, but something about the way things are going down seem unnatural and too calculating, even for him. James was good at making threats, but lousy at following through.” Derrick placed a hand on my arm. When I looked up into his eyes, I realized how much this man truly cared about my family. “Marjorie, if you have any idea of anyone, besides James, who might have some kind of vendetta against you, no matter how big or small, we need to know and explore every angle out there.”
I shook my head. “There’s no one I can think of. I was kind of a loner in high school and college. I never met any female friends of James. Most of the girlfriends I had were all nice enough. Granted, every once in a while I’d have one that was jealous of my last name and the money I’d get from a trust fund.” I reached up and grabbed my head, feeling the pounding getting worse. “Can I please rest for now? I promise to try and come up with some names later.”
My uncle stood, placing a hand against my back and giving it a rub. “I love you, Marjorie. I don’t like there being a threat against a member of my family. I know Tomas would prefer a legal, gentler approach to things, but I’m not that patient. As far as I’m concerned, if you intimidate one of us, you threaten all of us. I won’t have my family at risk, no matter the cost.”
I leaned back to look at him. “Thank you, Uncle Alex.” I hadn’t called him that since I was a kid, but it felt appropriate for some reason, especially since we weren’t in the office where anyone could hear. “I know you have my best interest at heart. I’m just thankful Ethan had the foresight to call Derrick and Rick over last night. Had we gotten the food by ourselves,” I closed my eyes and winced at the thought, “I don’t want to think what could’ve happened.”
He reached over, extending his hand to Ethan. “Thank you, son. I owe you yet another debt of gratitude. You’ve saved my company, helped Dawn and Rafe, and now my niece. I’m forever in your debt.”
Ethan shook his hand, but dismissed his notion. “You owe me nothing, sir. I still feel I need to prove myself to make up for what happened to bring me into your lives. I know I can never take back that night. I wish I could, but know that I will always have your family’s best interest at heart and am grateful for everything you’ve done for me.”
Ethan seemed disheartened for a moment. I could tell the memories of the accident were playing through his mind. I lifted my head off his chest and focused on his eyes, “You weren’t at fault, Ethan. Everyone in our family has forgiven you. The only people holding you back at this point are yourself and Jackson, but even he’ll come around in time.” My uncle nodded in agreement with what I was saying.
Derrick stood beside my uncle. “We’re going to leave you to rest. We’ll send your parents back up here if you’d like. I have a couple of guards posted outside your door. No one gets in here without your permission.”
I tried holding in a yawn as I thanked them both for their kindness.
As they were heading toward the door, my uncle turned around and said, “We’ll talk later tonight when you’re both feeling up to it and after Derrick and Rick finally get some sleep. Until then, we’ll keep the rest of our security guys busy investigating what’s going on. We may even call in Titan Security to assist if need be. We want this resolved yesterday, not tomorrow, if you catch my drift.”
Ethan and I both nodded, trying to stifle our yawns. The late night and early morning excitement was catching up to both of us.
I watched as the
y lowered the lights and left. I felt Ethan’s lips on my forehead. “What am I going to do with you? I’m hurt that you didn’t trust me, but I think I understand why.”
My eyelids felt like lead weights; I could barely keep them open. I was feeling the rise and fall of Ethan’s chest as his breathing began to even out, placing us both at the edge of sleep. “Forgive me?”
I thought I heard him mumble, “How can I stay mad at someone I love?” but I must have been already dreaming because darkness overtook me and I was lost to the thoughts of his soft gentle lips as they glided over my face, neck, and down to my…
I WANTED TO BE mad at Marjorie for keeping everything locked up tight inside, but I reasoned there was more to the story than what I’d heard today. I didn’t push to find out any more details since I knew we’d be talking with Kent and Carol throughout the week. Couples therapy would be the best place to bring up the difficult topics we’d discussed. I hope that she’ll fill in some of the gaps.
Besides, who was I to judge? She’d just found out that I’d had suicidal thoughts at one time and was dealing with control issues that brought about rage. What’s weird is that given all of this, I was being the forward thinker for both of us, making some of the decisions and it actually felt good. For some reason Marjorie put her trust in me, looking for me to guide her and I liked it.
We ended up spending a couple of days in the hospital. The doctor wanted to make sure we recovered our strength and energy and to run more tests to make sure there were no ill effects to our internal organs. Marjorie received a clean bill of health. My heart had suffered a bit of stress, but no lasting damage. The cardiologist articulated that things would return to normal within no time, which was great news, yet, I felt even more infuriated that some psycho had influence over my life right now.
It took a full day to finally convince Marjorie to sleep in her bed. I never told her that she was actually hurting my chest and shoulder by sleeping on me because, in truth, I’d take the pain to feel her pressed tightly against me. It was a fantasy come true.
The only way she conceded was to ask the nurse to push her bed right up against mine and drop the hand rails where we could hold onto each other’s hands. They were happy to do this and we seemed to sleep a little easier.
Rick informed us that he pulled Ivan and Sophia into the investigation, besides just checking out the video feed, since they lived in our building, more precisely – right above me. They fitted the stairwells with temporary cameras to try and get a glimpse of any notes being left. They also went to the extreme of hiring someone that could pass for Marjorie, from a distance, to look like she was coming and going from her apartment as normal. The hope was to catch her being tailed by the culprit and laying a trap to catch him.
Gianna and Nate had gathered several of Marjorie’s things and put them in the guest bedroom and bath. I told them to bring as much as was necessary to make her feel at ease. I just hoped this whole ordeal wouldn’t last long; otherwise, I’d be taking cold showers two or three times a day.
The first day back to my apartment felt more like a visit to the zoo. I’d always been so used to doing things on my own and having privacy within my family. It kept surprising me just how close the Prescott family was even with all of its new extended members.
It didn’t take long for my place to be cleaned, fully stocked with prepared meals that we only needed to reheat, a couple new features added to my security system including a camera right outside my door to see who’s there, and plenty of well wishes. At one point I joked that I should have a revolving door put in.
Marjorie seemed to relish the quietness that finally came, until Kent and Carol stopped by at my request. She could try to deflect and say she was fine, but I needed some of my questions answered so I’d know exactly what I was dealing with and what frame of mind she was in.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears threatening to spill over, as she pleaded, “Why can’t I just be left alone? Why do we have to do this now?”
Carol had made us some hot tea and we’d taken up the space in the guest area to talk. Marjorie tried her best to escape to my extra bedroom, but I quickly grabbed her hands, gave them a reassuring squeeze, and led her back to the sofa. “I know you’re upset. You’re mad that I know as much as I do, but to err on the side of caution I need to know everything that happened between you and James so I can anticipate his moves.”
She shook her head, not wanting to sit. “I can’t. You have to understand, it’s easier to pretend it didn’t happen.”
I finally wrapped one arm around her waist, pulled her down onto my lap on the sofa, and grabbed hold of her chin so she’d look at me. “That’s enough!” I yelled, getting her immediate attention. “You will sit on this couch, discuss the issues we need to talk about, and will not move from this position until we are done talking.”
She started shaking her head, opening her mouth to counter, when I laid my finger over her lips. “I’m not going to put up with any arguments.” I gave her a little squeeze after pulling her into my chest. “I don’t know why you’re trying to hide your past. It’s part of what defines who you are today, and the person I’m staring at in my lap is a remarkable woman who I care about.”
Marjorie stopped squirming, “You care about me?”
She seemed surprised by my admission, so I nodded. “If I didn’t, would I go through this whole charade with you to ensure your safety?”
Her arms wrapped around my neck as she gave me a hug and chaste kiss on the cheek. “Then prove to me you care, Ethan. I need to know why you keep everyone at arm’s length. Why you won’t allow yourself to feel? Why you’ve considered suicide? Why you’re so scared to talk about the BDSM scene?”
I knew my body language shifted and my eyes went wide in fear. I knew the answers to all of it, but was she ready to hear them? I argued internally about being too revealing, when I came to the realization that she’d only talk if I gave up a bit of my own information. “Fine. I’m willing to barter with you, if that’s what it takes to help you move past all of this.”
Kent piped up. “So who wants to go first?”
Marjorie tried wiggling off of my lap, but I held her tighter to me. Taking in a deep breath, I finally voiced, “I’ll go first.”
I lifted her chin with one hand so I could see into her eyes. “I guess we’ll talk about you overhearing my suicidal thoughts. What can I say? The accident forever changed my life. I didn’t like having four months of my life missing and finding out that everything changed around me. Imagine, you have your whole life planned out in front of you and then awaken to find out it’s all gone, thanks to one asshole’s warped interpretation of events. As a result, I didn’t want to face this new life, a life in which I’d taken one, even if by accident. I couldn’t rationalize that it wasn’t my fault. I was lost and for a while felt like I was alone.”
She placed her hand over my heart, smiling weakly, her eyes rich with understanding, “I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how much had changed for you. Why did you believe it was your fault?”
Kent spoke up. “The reports all indicated that Tom was the responsible party for the accident. We all know that Gabi had an undetected aneurysm that would have caught up to her during childbirth, if not sooner, so why do you still feel you’re the one to blame? Remember, we won’t judge you, Ethan.”
I felt anger coursing through me and slowly lifted Marjorie off my lap. I leaned forward, my hands shaking, as I finally brought out my inner demons. “It wasn’t long after I got behind the wheel of my car that I realized something was wrong. My mind felt active, but my body felt off. I tried to rationalize that if I made it home, or somewhere that I could lie down for a bit, I’d feel better.”
My eyes closed as I pictured that night. I felt her hands covering mine, giving me a squeeze of encouragement to continue with my story. “When I started feeling sick to my stomach, I aimed the car towards Marissa’s place. She was close and I’d promised Nate I’d che
ck up on her anyway, to make sure she was okay. She’d broken up with Tom by then and he’d been harassing her. Besides, we needed to talk.
“I could tell my reflexes were compromised and my mind kept telling me to pull over. I knew I needed to get my car off the road and call 911 because things were rapidly declining.” I looked up at everyone expecting to see judgment; instead, I saw compassion in their eyes. I instantly angered as a result.
“Don’t you all get it?” I yelled, fisting my hands, “I had control of my mind. I should’ve been able to pull my car over and get help. I could have prevented the accident if only I’d acted quickly!”
I ran my hands through my hair, wanting to rip every strand of it out. “I should’ve died in that accident instead of her. I should be the one not having a future, not having a life. I feel guilty that I’m a part of your family, while Gabi can’t be. I had the ability to control my actions that night; my mind was fully functioning, but I did nothing!”
I looked over at Marjorie, tears slowly falling from her eyes. I grabbed hold of her hands, “For the longest time I felt I shouldn’t live and I tried to take my life numerous times as a result. It was Nate who stopped me by flushing my pills. It felt good to be drugged up to the point of numbness; it was better than reality.”
I’d expected a lecture, maybe even some yelling at me for taking Gabi’s life, but there was only silence, which was grating on my nerves. Carol was the first to speak, “Do you have any clue what GHB does to your system? What it’s used for?”
“I know it’s a date-rape drug. I still can’t believe I managed to ingest so much. It was foolish to accept a drink offered, in peace, by Tom. I should’ve known he wouldn’t let our earlier argument go.” I feel so stupid for believing him.
Carol continued. “I deal with a lot of women who’ve been slipped this drug through their drinks at parties. They feel the rape they endured was a result of their actions because they willingly accepted someone’s drink and, in some capacity, had the power to stop what happened to them. What would you tell them?”
I Need You Too: Stand Alone Novel, Contemporary-Erotic-Suspenseful Romance, Psychological Thriller Page 6