“My parents were all about appearances. The perfect house, the perfect marriage, the perfect children. Walter and Georgia Kelly. I changed my last name after I was rescued in New York. I didn’t want to be connected to them anymore.”
I bite my lip to hold back my commentary. Growing up in Texas, I’m well acquainted with people like that. I hate them. Parents who are more concerned about how they are perceived than whether or not their children become good people. They’re the people who treat their children more like pawns on a chessboard instead of precious souls who need love and protection. Parents like Raven’s are a dime a dozen. People like that shouldn’t be allowed to procreate.
Raven places her hand over mine, seeking strength, and I’ll always give it to her. I’d give her every bit of my soul. She could bleed me dry, and I’d still offer to give her my heart.
“I did everything they asked of me. Ballet, tennis, student government, debutante balls, perfect grades. I even dated the boys they wanted me to, which were always the children of business partners or people who would raise their social status.”
It’s like legal human trafficking.
I keep my breathing even. I don’t want her to feel judged by my reactions.
“When I was eight, they had my brother, Noah. I’m still not sure what made them act the way they did with him. I don’t know if he was unplanned, the product of an affair, or what. But they didn’t welcome him home.”
These people. If I didn’t already know they were dead, I’d kill them.
“And Noah wasn’t one who could be controlled. He didn’t let our parents force him into anything. They wanted a son who liked football, but he liked computers.” Raven sniffs, and Knox swipes his thumb across her cheek, wiping away her salty tears.
“I knew Walter would hit Noah. He said it was to ‘teach him a lesson’ and that he just wanted Noah to ‘become a man.’ Whatever that means. It got to a point where Noah didn’t even have to do anything wrong. Walter would take off his belt and hunt Noah down just because he was in a bad mood. I did everything I could to intervene. But then Walter got smart and would wait until I wasn’t home.”
No child should feel unwanted. No child should know what pain feels like because of their parent. They’re supposed to learn by falling off their bike or accidentally touching a hot pan. Children are supposed to be cherished. I don’t have kids of my own and even I know that.
My fingers dig into my arms so hard that I wouldn’t be surprised if I have permanent indents in my skin. But again, I don’t want Raven to feel what I’m feeling, so I lean forward and press my lips to the back of her head.
“But Noah was strong. He was always stronger than me.”
“Raven…” I growl. I don’t like her talking about herself like that.
“He was though. He never gave in. No matter what Walter and Georgia did, he wouldn’t do what they wanted. Lunch at the country club with the girl of their choosing, football tryouts, wearing their ‘approved clothing.’ Noah was unapologetically himself.” Raven’s tone is devoted. Her love for her brother is pure and unwavering.
“I’m sorry you lost him,” I whisper in her hair.
“It was my fault,” she chokes out.
“Impossible,” Knox comforts.
Raven shakes her head. “I should have been there. He needed me, and I wasn’t there.”
“You couldn’t have known he was going to die,” I reassure her.
“But I did. I never should have left the house when I knew Walter was in one of his moods. When I got home, I found blood on the stairs.” Raven swallows, bracing herself. “He—he had broken his neck, but he had been bleeding from a hit to the head and a stab in his gut. Noah was only ten.”
He was stabbed? What the hell?
Raven’s voice breaks. “I looked around for someone to help and spotted Walter standing at the top of the stairs with a bloody kitchen knife in his hand.”
She shouldn’t have had to live this. It never should have been her.
“He didn’t even look remorseful. Walter said, ‘He should’ve done what he was told.’ And I just lost it. I started yelling, something I had never done before. I didn’t even know I knew how to yell. Georgia came running out of their room on the second floor, and something in me just...snapped.”
Raven blinks, shaking her head as if she still can’t believe what she’s telling us is what actually happened.
“They told me I was being disrespectful and ungrateful. But I was still stuck on the fact that Georgia was home. She heard my brother’s screams and did nothing. She heard my brother, her son, in agony, and she didn’t step in. He could’ve been crying for help or begging Walter to stop, and Georgia just kept going through her day as if her son being murdered was normal.”
My vision narrows, and my heart rate speeds. My fingers ache to wrap around Walter and Georgia’s throats.
I cannot imagine. It’s one thing for Walter and Georgia to be frustrated or angry because Noah wasn’t living the life they wanted. But it’s something else entirely to take that indignation and take it out on their child. To act as if their child owes them a pound of flesh.
“In all the yelling, Georgia’s hand connected with my cheek. It didn’t even register that she slapped me. She kept yelling, but I couldn’t hear a single word. It’s like I acted on instinct. I ran right for her and shoved her. I just kept pushing and pushing until she fell over the railing. She landed on her back in the entryway.”
