“No matter what, my real mother never feels like the real deal to me. It hurts Rain and I don’t know how to stop it. This isn’t going to be any different. I’m always going to disappoint him where my mother and his sister are concerned. I don’t know how to stop it.”
I took my headphones out.
I heard her just fine with them in but if she was going to talk about this finally then she deserved my full attention.
“Do you know your dad at all?” Trenton asked and I knew without looking at her that it was the way wrong thing to say.
I wanted to smack him upside the head. She was opening up to us. Now was not the time for sarcasm. Now was the time for complete understanding and devotion. Okay, so maybe not so much that last part but I couldn’t help myself.
“Of course she knows her dad, asshole.” I grumbled at my brother before turning around in my seat so I could look at Ariel. “Your dad loves you. We all know this. But this shit with your aunt and your mother is all kinds of extreme. It would fuck with anyone’s head. But, bottom line, your aunt was a horrible person and she robbed you of something you can never get back. Whether you eventually remember your mom or not it’s still going to suck for you. She’s dead and our memories are all we have left of our dead. You’re lucky though because you still have your dad and he can always share his memories with you. It’s not the same thing but it is absolutely better than nothing. And, sometimes, better than nothing is all we can ask for.”
When she continued to stare out the window I left it at that and turned back around in my seat. She needed time to think, but I hoped my words got through to her.
I didn’t put my headphones back in because I wanted her to feel free to talk to me if she felt like it.
“You’re right,” she said in a quiet, sad voice. “Even knowing that, it still hurts.”
I sighed. I would take all of her hurt away from her if I could, but with this I could do nothing for her. And that seriously sucked. “It’ll probably always hurt, Ariel. Nothing will ever be able to take that pain away from you. But that’s how you honor the mother you don’t remember. By never forgetting the pain you hold in your heart over her absence. That’s all you can do.”
“Not just a pretty face,” she muttered under her breath.
I grinned because Ariel Kimber thought I was pretty. I caught the smile that ghosted across Trenton’s face before it disappeared entirely. We could easily pass as twins, so she thought he was pretty too.
“Baby, you have no idea what all I am. But the time is coming where I’m going to show you.”
It was a promise and I didn’t care if she was pretending she wasn’t ready to hear it.
The car was quiet for a while after that as we put miles between us and home.
7
The Circle of Life, Babe
Ariel
An entire day in the car was simply too much for me. I was used to being busy all the time and always on the go.
This being stuck in the car for a whole day wasn’t good for the mind. I needed a distraction.
Thankfully, the hotel Quinton had put us up in came up on the gps and we were ready to stop for the night.
But my asshole bossy husband was full of all kinds of surprises and he’d gotten us all one room to share. There were two king size beds, but still.
What kind of man tried to push his wife into sleeping with two other men?
He was out of his fucking mind, but I refused to so much as text him so I could give him a piece of my mind. He’d get too much amusement out of that.
“I’m gonna order us some room service,” Simon said as he immediately plopped down on one of the beds and reached for the phone.
My mouth twitched as I watched him fondly. He didn’t bother asking us what we wanted and I didn’t mind. By now he knew what I liked and if I didn’t want to eat it chances where high that he would.
Trenton rolled his eyes at his brother’s antics as he carried his bag to the bathroom. He looked at me over his shoulder. “I’m going to jump in the shower. Don’t answer the door by yourself, please.”
Another please from another bossy man in my life. What the hell was happening here?
I sat down on the empty bed and picked up the remote from the nightstand. I spread out on the bed and mindlessly flicked through channels on the tv.
The bed shifted beside me as Simon joined me on the bed. He plucked the remote out of my hand and took over my channel search. I didn’t mind. I wasn’t really looking for anything anyway, I just wanted something to do.
