Jared still hesitates. “He… we don’t really know, Em. But he was at the bottom of the stairs.”
I blink, searching my memory. “The lights went out. He… he fell.”
I grabbed his leg. And I pulled on it.
Jared doesn’t say anything. It takes me too long to put the pieces together. “Oh. He’s… dead.”
My words hang in the air. Not a question. Not when I already know the answer. “Is his father here?”
Jack Matthews is possibly a worse person than his son. Arron had to learn it from somewhere.
“Jack passed away,” my mother says quietly. “Heart attack. Last year.”
Both of them are gone, then. Out of my life.
I don’t know how to feel about that.
“Don’t you waste a second of breath worrying about either of them.” Jared’s words are forceful, but his touch is gentle as hepushes back my hair. “He hurt you, Em. Again. He deserved everything he got.”
I inhale. Wet, noisy. “I know.”
I’m… free.
The harsh sound of shouting comes from the hall, and I shrink back. Jared’s mouth thins, and he gets to his feet. “I’ll tell him to be quiet.”
My father. “No. I want to see him. Will you… ask him to come in?”
A pause. “Sure. I’ll wait outside.”
“No.” My vehemence surprises everyone. Especially me. “Stay. Please.”
Jared searches my face. “Okay.”
59
Jared
Emmy’s father absolutely despises me.
Me being here bothers him more than his actual daughter, lying on the bed with more bruising than skin on show. It’s clear from the way he keeps glaring at me, while ignoring her altogether.
Leaning against the wall, I cross my arms and pin him with a stare of my own. “She’s in front of you, if you were wondering.”
“Jared,” Emmy whispers. “It’s okay.”
Every word is halting, hard fought. Even the whites of her eyes haven’t escaped, the blood red a hideous insight into what happened to her.
It’snotfucking okay. God. I’m glad that Ben and I never had a father, if the alternative would have been this piece of shit.
How he made someone like Em, I don’t know.
But this isn’t my discussion to lead. So I shut my mouth and nod. But my expression sends a clear message.
Upset her in any way, and I will physically throw you out.
His lips twist into a smirk as if he’s won some kind of victory. Rocking back on his heels, he finally deigns to grace Emmy with a glance. He doesn’t even blink at her injuries. “So. Your doctor said you’ll be discharged in the next few days. Given the circumstances, I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to return home. Too many questions, and with Arron dead, it will create a wider reputational issue that I would prefer not to face with the business in a state of flux due to Jack’s passing. Your mother agrees with me.”
“I beg your fucking pardon?”
