Callie’s voice got low. “Hurt you how?”
“He hit me.” When Callie kept quiet, Aspen kept going. She had to get it out before she froze or got scared or ran from this conversation. “Then he said sorry. He gave me flowers and begged me to take him back…and I did.”
Okay, that part hurt.
“Oh, Aspen.”
“The next time, he pushed me into a bookshelf. There were a couple of times when he grabbed my arm so tightly, he bruised me. And the last time, he hit me so hard I fell onto the coffee table and it broke. I had to kick him in the balls to get away.”
She absently ran her fingers over her palm, almost able to feel the glass cutting into her all over again.
Callie’s breathing was a little heavier, and when she spoke next, she sounded like she was crying. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was embarrassed.”
“But—”
“I know you’re going to tell me that I shouldn’t have been. That it washimwho did the wrong thing, not me. But the abuse actually started before it became physical. I should have left so much earlier, but he made me feel like…like I needed him. He’d yell at me. Try to control my movements. And when he hurt me, he made me feel like it wasmyfault. Then he was so nice after, and I just turned into this pathetic woman who accepted his excuses.”
“Aspen, youneverhave to feel embarrassed with me. You never have to feel ashamed or like you did anything wrong. You’re my best friend, and someone hurt you. I needed to know that.”
“I know.” And she really did. If situations were reversed, she’d be unbelievably hurt that her best friend hadn’t shared this. But her head had been a jumbled mess since Dylan. There wasn’t a single fragment of her life that he hadn’t touched or affected.
“Even though I never saw the bruises, I think a part of me knew it was something like that,” Callie said quietly. “But I was hoping I was wrong.”
“I covered the bruises with makeup. I wore long sleeves. And I smiled and used humor to cover the pain.”
A sniff sounded over the line. “But you’re out now. You’re safe.”
So she’d thought. Dylan was starting to feel like the nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. “Dylan might be in Amber Ridge.”
“That son of a bitch! Lock and I will be on the next flight over there—”
“No.” The word was out so quickly, Callie hadn’t even finished the sentence. “You’re pregnant. I don’t want you anywhere near Dylan. You’re staying in Misty Peak, where you’re safe. I have Jesse looking after me, and he’s just as capable of protecting me as Lock would be.”
“But—”
“No buts. You need to promise me you’re not coming, Callie. Please, for me.”
Callie’s voice softened. “Fine. I’m not comingyet. But I hate that I’m not there. And I hate that you didn’t tell me. But I also get it. You went through a trauma and you needed time toprocess it. I’m glad you were strong enough to end things with him.”
Strong…it was a word she hadn’t associated with herself since Dylan.
“I’m going to tell Jesse.” Even if it felt like the hardest mountain to climb.
“That’s good. Let him in, A.”
She blinked back tears. “I miss you.”
“Oh, Aspen, I miss you so much.”
The doorbell rang. That would be Luke with her laptop. “I need to go, but thank you for listening to me. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you.”
“You never have to apologize to me, Aspen. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
