Chapter 18
Avidya
I sat on the oak desk inside Carlos’s office as Zachariah and Julia looked at my arm. I refused to look at the dark colorful bruising as my thoughts swirled around in my head. Carlos had pulled a gun on my father.
A gun!
Everything was a blur after that as Zachariah pulled me from my father’s reach and stood in front of me, protecting me.
Why? Why all of this
“Avidya, sweets?” Julia asked, trying to bring me out of wherever my mind had gone to.
“I believe she’s in shock,” Zachariah’s voice reached my ears. “Can you get me a blanket?”
“Of course,” she responded without a beat, almost like she had seen others in a state of shock before.
I blinked down at my lap as Zachariah wrapped my arm. Of course, I winched at the pain as he did so. Was it possibly broken?
“Hey,” he whispered as a finger lifted my chin up. “Are you okay?” I couldn’t meet his eyes, fearing what I would see if I did.
“Here you go,” Julia said, gently wrapping a soft blanket around my shoulders. “I’ll leave you two for a few minutes to check on Carlos. I’m not in a mood to clean up any messes.”
“Thank you, mom,” Zachariah responded.
“Of course,” Julia said before leaving the room.
Zachariah bent down, forcing me to meet his eyes as the door softly closed. I saw the worry that he held. Why was he worried about me?
“Come here, sweet girl,” he spoke, pulling me into his chest and wrapping his arms around my back, holding me tightly against him.
I froze for only a moment before tears burst forth. Why was it that he seemed to always bring out my worst? He made me question my actions, my thoughts. Everything!
“I got you,” he whispered near my ear as I continued to cry against his chest. He gently rubbed his hands up and down my back. I felt safe here in his arms, even though I barely knew this man.
“I’m sorry,” I hiccupped out.
“No need to apologize,” he spoke quietly. “It is I who should be apologizing. My father is not the type to take things lightly, and really, your father probably deserved it. No woman should ever be treated with disrespect as you have been.”
I knew that this family, this man holding me, was not just any man I randomly ran into. I knew my father did unmentionable things but were guns really always involved? Was I in that much danger? Why was it seemly all about me? Who was I to the world?
“We have much to talk about, but not here,” Zachariah’s voice soothed me. “I don’t want you going home with that man that calls himself your father. I don’t trust him, Avidya. I didn’t want to pull you into the middle of all this, but I have.”
My tears slowly began to slow, although my breathing stayed labored. My thoughts swirled in circles over what had happened. Not just the whole gun thing, but also the kidnapping. Was Zachariah a part of it? I was sure now that my father was, but who else? Why? Was it really worth it? Was I meant to not bereturnedto my family?
“Avidya?” he asked, pulling back from me enough to look at me. I slowly lifted my wet eyes up to his. He’d already seen me cry one too many times, but for some reason, he made me feel stronger in the end.
“I don’t want to take your choices away, that’s not me. I can’t let you leave with your father, no matter what he says,” he went on. “If he can hurt you in front of me and my father, what else is Cody really capable of?”
“I don’t want to go back,” I spoke, my voice stronger than I expected after crying my heart out against his chest. “But I don’t have answers yet.”
“We will get them some other way,” he said, sounding relieved. “I hate that man for marking you.”
“Miquel saw the mark,” I replied.
“Of course he would,” Zachariah said with a sigh. “And then your father saw it. Surprised he didn’t notice sooner.”
“I . . . tried to not to let him,” I spoke, for some reason feeling ashamed.
